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STUICTCUES 



ON A 



YOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA, 

AS INDITED BY THE "SECRETARY TO THE [LATE] MISSION" 



TO 

Ik m 



LA PLATA 



INCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ON THE CAPABILITY OF THE SPANISH AME- 
RICANS FOR CIVIL LIBERTY. ON THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS (ciVIL 

AND MILITARY,) OF THE REVOLUTION IN BUENOS AYRES, 
CHILI, THE ORIENTAL BANDA, ETC. 



Tixe Impoxiance of TTienAly Relations, 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL, 

WITH THE 

INDEPENDENT STATES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
IN A SERIES OF LETTERS, 

ADDRESSED TO A GENTLEMEN OF DISTINCTION AT WASHINGTON. 



BY A FRIEND OF TRUTH AND SOUND POLICY. 



History is a sacred subject, because the soul of it is truth, and where truth ii, there 
the Divinity will reside; yet, there are some who compose and cast off books, 
as if they were tossing up a diih of pancakes. 

' boh auixoTK. 



Baltimore: 

BY RICHARD J. MATCHETt 

1820. 




I 



/A 






ATWEWTISEM^KT. 



At the request of a friend, to whom I had read some pages 
of the annexed letter, I have consented to deliver it to the 
press,— "with all its imperfections on its head," — uncopied, 
unpruned, and unadorned, except by rays of truth. It owes 
its miscellaneous character to the method I had conceived, of 
separating matters, in their nature distinct,— -a conceited wri- 
terfrom the momentous subjects he has treated and obscured. 
-*-We have a deep interest in the welfare of South America, 
and ought to regard her with affection: Blows levelled against 
her we' ought to consider as thrusts at ourselves. Her geo- 
graphy, history, commerce, political institutions and capabi- 
lities, are subjects universally studied.-f-The chaotic "Voy- 
age" furnishes little to aid, and much to frustrate the curious 
enquirer. It is destitute of order, void of perspicuity, want- 
ing in veracity, discolored with gall, — a rudis indigestaque mo- 
les, on which the spirit of intelligence has never breathed — 
If these essential defects call not for exposure, the false enco- 
miums of unreflecting men would provoke it. — To-day, I 
met with an elegant poetical panegyric on this "Voyage," in 
a paper printed at Wilmington, in Delaware, from which I 
make an extract; — willing to give the opinion of others as 
well as my own.— 

"VOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA. 

"We would rather see our countrymen produce books of 
merit than gain battles; we rejoice more at Mr. Walsh's Ap- 
peal, and Mr. Brackenridge's Voyage than we would at ano- 
ther victory at New Orleans, or the capture of another Guer 
riere. Our courage and military skill are no more questi- 
oned, but our literary character is yet to be established. An- 
tiquity is indebted for the glory that environs her more to her 
authors than to her generals. 

"In depth and accuracy of research we know of few Ame- 
rican books that can compete with Mr. B's. Voyage. The 



IT 

labour of Mr. B. was much enhanced because many of the 
facts, he has so luminously grouped, are scattered through vo- 
luminous books written in a foreign language. Mind has al- 
most as little to do with translation as with digging a ditch, 
or felling a tree. When genius condescends to drudgery, we 
feel, in a higher degree, the regret caused by seeing a high- 
mettled racer harnessed to a dray." 

There's for you ! Cedite Romani scriptores, cedite, Grait 
cedite all of ye! — With Mr. Walsh I have no business, at 
present: — a few years ago, I corrected his monarchical wri- 
tings with all the severity of satire. — If he has not relinquish- 
ed his anti-republican tenets, as his good sense should dic- 
tate, he has at least drawn his pen in a national cause, and in 
behalf of humanity. — I applaud his latter conduct as sincerely 
as I condemned his first. He still adheres to political here- 
sies imbibed from his original profession, — -the coaction of 
precedent, the supremacy of the judiciary power, — 'in its na- 
ture a subordinate, or at most a co-ordinate branch of the go- 
vernment! ) but we cannot blame anprder of men for cherish- 
ing an esprit de corps — Assumption is natural to them; and 
for that reason it were madness in us to make them our poli- 
tical oracles.— He is endowed with talent, employ it as he 
may. 

I cannot assent to the opinion of the Delawarian respecting 
the drudgery of translating: I could not prescribe a more in- 
structive, agreeable exercise to any person desirous of culti- 
vating language, or improving his mind. It affords time for 
meditating on the thoughts of others and comparing them 
with our own. It tends to cure us of illiberal vanity, by 
opening the mines of foreign lore to our inspection: it assures 
us, that genius and learning are not necessarily confined to 
any particular country, but that the tree of knowledge may 
thrive in every climate. What is genius without discipline 
or study, but an ignis fatuus?— The mind is formed, knowledge 
is accumulated by studious labor; and the man, who has not 
collected some literary treasure, ought not to be too eager 
about composing books. 

Ludere qui nescit, campestribus abstinet armis. 

For this reason I agree with the eulogist, that his friend the 
" Secretary" ought not to translate for the public, until he 
learn his exercises under a preceptor, — as appears from his 



book. Yes, it is true that a genius must work like a ditcher 
or a dray-horse, unless like the Secretary he can be "deep 
learned and shallow read." I must not dispute about inspira- 
tion! | 

Oh! nature's noblest gift — my gray goose-quill! 

Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will, 

Torn from thy parent bird to form a pen,l 

That mighty instrument of little men! S- 

To paint a monster in his murky den. ) 



"What wits! what authors! dost thou daily raise, 
How frequent is thy use, how small thy praise! 
Condemn'd at length to be forgotten quite, 
With all the pages which 'twas thine to write, 
But thou, at least, mine own especial pen! 
Once laid aside, art now assumed again," 
To render homage to the social laws, 
And sketch a parricide to freedom's cause. 

"When vice triumphant, holds her sovereign sway, 
And men through life her willing slaves obey; 
When folly, frequent harbinger of crime, 
Unfolds her motley store to suit the time; 
When allied orders over all prevail, 
When justice halts, and rights begin to fail; 
E'en then the boldest start from public sneers 
Afraid of shame, unknown to other fears, 
More darkly sin, by satire kept in awe, 
And shrink from ridicule, if not from law. 

"Such is the foixe of wit! but not belong, 
To me, the arrows of satiric song; 
The public vices of our age demand 
Ji keener weapon and a mightier hand. 
Still there are follies, e'en for me to chase 
And yield at least amusement in the race." 
Or gay or thoughtful with the changeful theme: 
"The cry is up, and scribblers are my game." 

[Lord Byron, chiefly.] 

I hope, my venerable friend, now at Washington, will not 
discard my first letter, for the motley matter prefixed to it. — 
I have shunned ridicule as much as possible,- but, the ridicu- 
lous was often displayed before me. If the "Secretary" exhi- 
bits a gallimaufry, the exposition must partake of the medley. 
In future letters we shall strive to forget the unfortunate au- 
thor, if not his deceptive book: the gravity of narration indeed 
will not bear an association with extraneous topics. — If lei- 



VI 

sure permit, I shall so arrange some valuable materials as to 
reflect farther light on events in La Plata and Chili, &c. If not, 
I rely on an abler hand to present the desirable information in 
a better style than that of this notice. It is a hasty thing,— 
a forced march in the service of truth. — Yet, I am greatly de- 
ceived if the tissue that required eighteen months for fabrica- 
tion, has not been unwoven in ten days. Much malignity 
has been decomposed, and an antidote furnished against the 
remainder. 

An Impertinent A*. B. disconnected with the Book—entirely. 

The government of Buenos- Ayres, (i. e. the late Admin- 
istration,) disturbed by the reverberation of their victims' 
moans, and more confounded at their expositions of tyranny, 
began to study political catakoustics; — having already made 
a grand progress in the casuistical arts of extenuation, subdi - 
vision and justification! — They reasoned thus: — "If we are 
not able to silence truth, we shall succeed in drowning it by a 
louder clamor. As idolatrous priests overwhelm the cries of 
those they sacrifice, by the brazen clang of trumpets, so shall 
we conceal the groans of the dying, and the wrongs of the 
dead. Calumny being the natural shield of oppression — those 
w r hom we have proscribed and slain in South America, must 
be deprived of sympathy in North America. It is a contest 
between the living and the lifeless. — These can at most present 
but the pleadings of paleness and gashes. — Their eloquence is 
dumbness: — but we can scatter their ashes to the four winds 
of heaven, (as Sylia did those of Marius) and fill the earth 
with fictitious stories of their infamy. — We hold the reins of 
power; we possess the tempting ore. Our enemies talked of 
liberty; we must harp on independence. They would liberate 
the Indians, and (in their exalted ideas) elevate them to the 
rank of citizens. We shall propose to emancipate the conti- 
nent, and perpetuate noble orders under pretence of reward- 
ing merit. " Of the monologue I heard no more; but this ar- 
rested my attention. — I was ever since a keen observer of 
events and rumors, though merely a spectator." 

A resolution was taken by the faction of Buenos Ayres, (who 
judged of our habits by their own) to appoint jiscals from 
among our citizens here; in the hope, that when enlisted as 
lawyers, they would perform the incidental duty of defending 



YI1 

their arbitrary measures also. In their Jirst application, they 
were repulsed. Honorable men would not be retained in any 
other than their professional capacity. What occurred sub- 
sequently, is a secret; excepting the frequent creakings of 
some abject presses here during the past summer and autumn, 
under various misrepresentations, with the signature of alone 
but busy "B;" and without it. — He sometimes worked for 
the hive without humming. Perhaps, however, it might have 
been the result of that extreme independence for which our pre- 
sent newspapers are proverbial: the printers' disinterested- 
ness, and the volunteer advocate's simplicity, are the antipodes 
of collusion. Surely, no printer would become a deputy- 
prostitute — i. e. the creature of a hireling. The modest ad- 
vocate himself has hushed his notes on that tune since the 13th 
of November last, and some surmise that he must have died 
of the yellow fever: others guess that he shivers at the threat of 
a residencia, and is weaving an apology for his unfeeling as 
persions on the republicans of Buenos Ayres and Chili. Opi 
nions are equally diverse respecting his motives; the question 
being debated to this hour. C. conjectures, that from mean- 
ness and poverty, he had sallied forth on the highway of syco- 
phancy, equipped cap-a-pie to praise the D — 1 for his patron- 
age, or plunder patriots of their brightest gem — their reputa- 
tion. — (But C. is "an austere man.") D. ascribes his zeal to 
the earnest belief of a mind half insane, that it was charitable 
to vindicate murderers whom every body abhorred, and to ma- 
lign worthies, at whose persecutions every worthy man was 
enraged: That the author saw every thing inverted, and spoke 
or argued like no other being above ground: that, in fact, his 
feelings were not human, and he was a pitiable, not a censur- 
able object. E. repeated with a significant shrug, the Span- 
ish proverb, — "Nadie seria mesonero, si no fuese por dinero." 
No fee, no lawyer; no trouble without recompense. Would 
a man brave infamy for nothing? I am not sorry for the man's 
death, but I hope he repented even at the eleventh hour.-*— 
E. wisely suspended his opinion to obtain farther evidence. — 
G. thought that Artigas durst not show his face in Baltimore, 
without his gauchos at his back; and H, on the contrary, 
clenched his fist and swore, 'Til bed — d, gentlemen, if the 
pensioned biographer would think himself at home out of 
Buenos Avres. He used to frolick at old E 's like a fish, 



VIII 

A dark cloud seemed hanging over him, and he drew off the 
lightning by its vapours; "which, if you are electricians, you 
comprehend; if not, not." I. disliked enigmas and whispers, 
and hoped that some gentlemen meant no more than met the 
ear. — K. thought killing without trial a dreadful symptom. 
And L. thinks, the princess Leopoldina a lovely woman. — M. 
was adverse to mummery, backbiting and colloguing; and 
compared the levity of some gentlemen to laughter at a funeral 
procession. Unseasonable pleasantry, he said, was like the 
jests of a grave-digger. 

From matter so loose and contrariant, I can extract noth- 
ing. — If there be any coincidence between the newspaper pub- 
lications and the book, it is accidental and natural. As the 
author of one is dead, let the other have a fair trial by the 
judgment of his peers. — The former wished to obtain an office 
to the South, for he had an itching palm; but he hid himself 
in a tomb, (poor fellow!) without procuring his wishes.— 
The latter is a high-minded man, who "would not flatter 
Neptune for his trident," nor coax a government for an ap- 
pointment, either in Florida, or Louisiana; for Buenos Ayres 
or Brazil. — To be sure he is in love with New- Holland ', the 
undoubted seat of the Elysian Fields. 

Reader ! at present it is not necessary for you to know the 
Author of this examination; it is enough that the writer of 
the "Voyage" is acquainted with the exponent's pen. To 
him I am unmasked. 

January, 17, 1820, 



STRICTURES 



ON A 



Voijage to South America. 



LETTER I. 

Baltimore, 10th January, 1820. 



My very esteemed friend, 



Whilst I was lately on a visit at Washington, several of my 
friends, yourself among the number, enquired, "What is your opinion 

of B 's Voyage to South America? and I invariably answered; 

It is a scandalous book; but I might have added, morally and politi- 
cally corrupt. It is the most plausible defence which the pettifogger 
could frame for the military and political tyranny exercised in La Pla- 
ta and Chili, and therefore a disgrace to our country. — To you sir, I 
am bound to establish my assertion respecting this performance. — Yet 
as neither adulation nor censure is mingled with my motives for under- 
taking the present exposition, I frankly assure you, that individual 
friendship ardent as it is, could not alone have vanquished my repug- 
nance to an unwelcome task: allied however, with amor patrice it is 
irresistible.— Accept then, this humble tribute, as an offering to one 
of the purest and strongest of the social feelings, and an "oblation to 
those principles," for which you took up arms in 1775, and for which, 
our southern brothers are now heroically maintaining "the battle of Ame- 
rica against Europe." — If I be instrumental in undeceiving my fellow- 
citizens in matters of great moment; if I impose future silence on de- 
famers of freedom; if /exhibit accurate views of parties, politics, per- 
secutions, and usurpations in the states of La Plata and Chili, — their 
commerce and power; — above all, if by this domestic review, I contri- 
bute aught to rescue our laved country in the eyes of foreigners from 
one of the charges so frequently alleged against us in the lump, in their 
courts of criticism, I shall be richly rewarded. And if in the consci- 
entious pursuit of those leading objects, I should merit your honest 
approbation, I shall be proud. I have sifted facts, but have not stu- 
died expression. There was no superfluous leisure for attending to 
rules of composition: nor will you condemn my negligence, though the 
flying vehicle of my thoughts, be like the "hunting razor," adapted 
only for an hasty excursion. You had rather receive one line from the 
heart, than twenty dictated coldly from the head.-- -'Tis well! I am 
the nearer to my friend while no copyist stands between us. It is not 
to be concealed, that in this my ramble, we must encounter some sad 
sources of grief and bitterness, but there are springs of amusement 



10 

also. — Should we dissect moral carcasses, it will be only for instruc- 
tion and warning to moral life and purity. 

As the flagitious "Voyage" was "got up" principally for the market 
of Buenos Ayres, to be there re-echoed and cited as the sentiment of the 
Vnited States! this notice of the commodity will help to advertise the 
simple — of its quality. 

But, lo! already the retributive course of cause and effect. Insidi- 
ous arts have doubled on themselves; and the snake who had coiled 
himself up to strike deadly venom into others, feels anguish from his 
own fangs. — Or, to drop the similitude: the "Voyage" is a drug; — and 
its wretched author, (tolerated for a moment through mistaken deli- 
cacy,) is unmasked by his own sycophancy — fallen by this publication, 
to rise no more. — To bring such ephemeral characters to the light is 
to destroy them.— How scrupulous should men be to keep on good 
terms with their own hearts! — Conscientious honor is a shield against 
censure from without; but what can protect a man from upbraidings 
within! 

First impressions on men of sensibility are deep and strong; — beingin 
the moral as in the natural world, proportioned to the impressive force, or 
efficient cause. When we meet meanness or malevoleuce in an author 
who assumes the character of an instructor, we feel.indignation, and are 
apt to express it abruptly; but, when, to these qualities, a writer adds 
absolute incompetency, moral and intellectual, (of heart and head,) to 
investigate the subject he undertakes, he infallibly provokes our laugh- 
ter. In this case, as a modern apologist makes Puerreydon say of his 
declining popularity, "Be la risa al desprecio no hay gran distancia," 
&c. the distance is short between laughter and contempt, &c. Dis- 
dain and detestation will for a while dispute for mastery; but finally, 
as in all experiments of checks and balances the contents of two scales 
steal into one; the two powers will coalesce by affinity, and form a 
third principle different from either though composed of both! As I 
met with all those disgusting qualities in the ''Voyage to South Amer- 
ica," I could not conceal my dissatisfaction: Now it becomes us to 
speak with deliberation: scripta litera manet. He who condemns others 
must himself be doubly scrupulous not to offend. Veneration for truth, 
for the personage I address; respect for myself and for the great 
subjects involved, effectually preponderate against the propensity to 
disdain, which tempts me at every line I peruse in this peerless book. 
I dare not, will not swear to be always grave: — I pledge myself to no 
impossibility: but, I pawn my honor, that I shall be uniformly impar- 
tial, and speak of the living with such candor and justice as I would 
of the dead. 

This work too seems foisted on the public under the deception of an 
official title; "Voyage to South America, performed in the years, 1817 
and 1818, im the frigate Congress, by (the admirable author himself, 
late) secretary to the mission," viz. of Messrs. Bland, Rodney, and 
Graham. 

You, my revered friend, have been abroad; you have found your- 
self released in foreign countries from the narrow shackles of party 
spirit, and you beheld in the United States only your country. Its 
defects were enveloped in the obscurity of space, as its promontories 
were hidden from the sight by the convexity of the globe, (not to speak 



11 

of other causes no less insurmountable; - ) and its honor like other ador- 
ed objects, became if possible still dearer from distance. Whatever 
tended to tarnish that brilliant gem affected your sensible heart and 
rubified your cheek. A floating rumour, or a silly paragraph in a ga- 
zette, would sometimes make your arteries beat vehemently. The in- 
stance you related from your own experience, was remarkable, as it 
was honorable to your nature. — Why is it ordained, thought I, 
that in the commerce of the great human family, the worthless can thus 
lay the worthy under contribution, and the callous disturb the sensi- 
tive, almost to a degree of torture. Such sensations are more vapid 
when we happen to be amongst a people on whose uninformed minds 
foreign agents are endeavoring to stamp unfavorable prepossessions 
against our country or the character of its government. They watch 
for errors, like ill-natured critics; distort good actions, and magnify 
the pettiest defects; generous policy, they ascribe to a selfish motive; 
and a cautious course they interpret into coldness or hostility; whilst we 
find it irksome to repel invidious arguments, and are forced perhaps 
to retaliate illiberality by unworthy recriminations, or odious compari- 
sons. 

1 have had a little experience of the same kind, but in an humbler 
sphere, and can estimate your feelings by my own. I was absent 
some time ago, in********* and would often look for the most 
vapid newspapers with as eager curiosity as for a casket of diamonds: 
when lo! a bundle of gazettes arrive. I open them — discover many 
an interesting item: Two thousand houses repaired in one city during 
a single summer: — a list of more than forty steam boats, meets my eye- 
Canals, after the glorious example of New York, are about to inter- 
sect every state, as in China, or a part of Russia; — and Agricultural So- 
cieties spring up with the rapidity of vegetation in the Torrid Zone: 
Boards of Public Works are instituted here, Canal Commissioners are 
appointed there. I boast of the prosperity of my country, and throw 
in a pointed hint on the efficacy of a free government to nerve industry, 
stimulate invention, secure property, and promote happiness. 

I espy a table of exports from South Carolina, and an estimate of 
the annual crops in Virginia. — I make a flourish on the margin of those 
gazettes, and lend them with my rubrick, all around. — This file of ga- 
zettes proved to belike Pandora's box inverted: the worst were under- 
most. Lucubrations on the revolutions of North and South America, 
next turn up, replete with absurdity and bloated with vanity; written 
evidently from imagination, not from memory, aud possessed of all the 
advantage which»an author of eminent wit and humour believes fiction 
to have over fact, — among a people very prone to enjoy the envied feli- 
city of being well deceived* If you credit those scribblers, we were 



*The ironical andprofound rogue to whom I allude, a fellow who appears to have 
stolen and treasured up all the knowledge among men, though richer than a Jew 
in his unrivalled talents, gives recondite reasons for his opinion, viz, That all the 
adjuncts and properties of happiness will herd under this short definition, that 
it is a perpetual possession of being -well deceived. Fiction holds the vantage ground 
of truth, "because the imagination can build nobler scenes, and produce more 
wonderful revolutions, than fortune or nature will be at the expense to furnish." 



12 

so free before the revolution, that the Declaration of Independence 
must be a whining catalogue of imaginary grievances drawn up by 
some hypochondriac who surveyed all objects, — the policy of kings, 
and movements of colonies, through the illusions of his own black mel- 
ancholy! Every line of the turgid nonsense flatters the northern por- 
tion of this hemisphere at the expense of the southern. I am enraged,-— 
hide away frothy effusions first, and at a convenient opportunity subject 
them to the purification of fire; heartily but inwardly cursing' the ig- 
noramuses, or the hirelings who "abuse" our "press as damnably" as the 
king's press was misused in raising FallstafFs ragged recruits. 

Insolvent notices, and bank frauds turn up in numbers, with the next 
leaf. Mercantile failures, thought I, are the natural effect of cupidity: 
where thousands adventure in a lottery, many must draw blanks. 
All that a wise government is bound to do in the business, is to avoid en- 
ticing crowds to engage in games of chance. In this light, the enor- 
mous proportion of bankruptcies shows that the principles of society 
are not so well understood by the citizens and their representatives 
as they should be; and ignorance of any kind is a dis-commendation. 
Far more disgraceful is the enumeration of abuses in banking,— collusion 
in the purchase of stock, extravagance in the emission of notes, dete- 
rioration of currency, the ruin of private fortunes, the enrichment of 
paper-stampers, misdemeanor, spoliation and suffering in every point 
of the compass. Who tempted our Legislators into these monstruosi- 
ties, or what degraded the people to submit to them? Whence did out- 
law-makers derive their "authority" to divest eleven men of their 
rights in order to clothe the twelfth, (a ****** perhaps) with privilege? 
Was the revolution only atchieved that we might commence another 
round of incorporation, inequality, injustice, and tyranny? Did our 
Declaration of Independence, our Bills of Rights, or our Constitutions 
authorise this political robbery? No I they do not even countenance it. 
Yet we have begun the work of usurpation already. We Lave shaken 
off a foreign yoke to little purpose, if wepassively consent to wear fet- 
ters from a domestic forge. Shall we, — we who boast such profundity 
and superiority, shall we mimic the strange whims of the Spaniards, 
who have driven out every race of foreign invaders, and then bowed 



As our erudite and celebrated voyager has practised literally in what the humorous 
Swift applauds, satirically. I give the remainder of the passag-e for illustration: 
"Nor is mankind so much to blame in being thus determined in his choice, if we 
consider that the debate merely lies between things past and th»igs conceived: and 
so the question is only this, — whether things that have place in the imagination may 
not as properly be said to exist, as those that are seated in the memory; which, 
may be justly held in the affirmative, and very much to the advantage of the for- 
mer, — since this is acknowledged to be the womb of things, and the other allowed 
to be no more than the grave. Again, — if we take this definition of happiness 
and examine it with reference to the senses, it will be acknowledged wonderfully 
adapt. How fading and insipid do all objects accost us that are not conveyed in 
the vehicle of delusion! how shrunk is every thing, as it appears in the glass of 
nature! so that if it were not for the assistance of artificial mediums, false lights, 
refracted angles, varnish and tinsel, there would be a mighty level in the felicity 
and enjoyments of mortal men." (Sec. IX. in Tale of a Tub, the digression con- 
cerning madness.) 



18 

their necks to a despot of their own? A plural tyranny too in the guise 
either of mercantile privilege or lawyer-privilege, — is the most galling 
imaginable. Under a monarchy, liberation may be obtained by deposing 
one mortal man; but, an order of men, a band of associates who never 
die, who act on a deliberate system, feel the esprit de corps and stead- 
ily follow its maxims, — how shall we extricate ourselves from these if 
we suffer them to gain footing among us? Know thyself! know thyself! 
Nations and individuals would be modester and wiser by a little self- 
examination. And, the newspaper press is silent under these deadly 
encroachments, — nay, is wielded as their auxiliary! The nation that 
"would not suffer the lion to invade it" now sits down supinely to be 
devoured by rats! The press too, that was vainly supposed to be en- 
dowed with saving influence, the preserver, the palladium of civil lib- 
erty! how did I execrate it as a traitor! All these empty, rhetorical 
personifications fled in an instant: the illusion that had dazzled my 
eyes for years, disappeared at once, and I sat wondering at past folly. 
"The press," said reflections, "is but a copyist: It multiplies impres- 
sions for those who employ it; and is most at the service of the rich and 

powerful;" because they can best reward it. 

As usurpers generally rise from these classes, they sound their way by 
perverting the press; and their first ambitious projects are advanced un- 
der color of public good. It is not wise to magnify or to underrate the 
value of this machine. It is the instrument of good or harm; may be 
employed by the philosopher or patriot, the traitor or the demagogue. 
With this suggestion, I turned over another gazette, thinking, that we 
had not gained so much as was desirable by banishing dictatorial li- 
censers, if the machinery formerly directed by despotic agents, were 
to be managed by ignorance, or controuled by patronage. This com- 
pensatory sheet was to make amends for all disgust. It announces an 
intellectual banquet! The sciences are dawning in the West, and 
wise men shall come from the East, to behold and learn, to wonder 
and worship. Some crazy projector in Ohio, seems emulous of the 
celebrity of Partridge, the Almanack maker: To snatch equal fame 
from the plaudits of mankind, he directs a chain of propositions to the 
scavans of America, every one of which betrays the comp'Ietest igno- 
rance of the elements of natural philosophy, and of long known ex- 
periments which established facts, now notorious on the subject. — For- 
getting the principles of JYeioton, ignorant of the observations of Mas- 
kelyne at the mountain Schehallien, and of the elaborate calculations 
of Hutton; having never heard a whisper of the ingenious experiments 
of Cavendish, which by a different process nearly proved the same re- 
sults with regard to the earth's density and attractive power, the lu- 
natic suggests a string of nonsense on the concavities of the solid 
globe!* He conceives that a set of nests are curiously built, and art- 



*The absolute gravity or density of the whole mass of our globe ought now to 
be as familiar as the alphabet. It was calculated and ascertained by Dr. Hutton, 
from Maskelyne's observations in 1774, 1775, and 1776, at the mountain Schehal- 
lien, in Perthshire. The attraction of that mountain on a plummet of lead being- 
•bserved on both sides of it, [North and South, as at Chimborazo in 1736,] and 



14 

fully concealed in the subterraneous parts of the hollow earth, which 
he is very eager to descend and rob. The more the arcanum is buri- 
ed, the more anxious he is to inspect it,* and immortalize himself by 
an unprecedented discovery. If Theseus and Gulliver and Epistemort 
visited the shades, why might not our philosopher creep half way to- 
wards the earth's centre and fathom the other half? He knew not, that 
atmospherical pressure would squeeze his poor carcase as flat as a floun- 
der, before he had cleverly begun his downward pilgrimage! If the In- 
dian sage was content in fancying that our globe reposed on the shelly 
back of a tortoise, our western sage was nigh proving to his own satis- 
faction, and that of some correspondents, (not a whit inferior to him 
in cosmogeny or world making) that it leaned on a wool sack or some- 
thing of the sort, like an English chancellor. The illiterate passive 
press copies all his ravings; and it seemed anxious that not a fragment 
of the banquet should be lost. Thus encouraged, he strikes up a cor- 
respondence with foreign potentates, emperors, philosophers; — one 
hemisphere being too narrow for the display of his transcendent doc- 
trines. AH his effusions were copied by the press. I wished inconsid- 
erately at the moment for a philosophical licenser to prevent a stupid 
gazetteer from disgracing us by the insertion of articles reproachful to 
our national character, "J deserved the bastilefor i£." It was feeling 
not opinion. Better that a thousand follies be printed than that one 
piece of wisdom be suppressed on any pretence — We will soon learn 
to correct what is disreputable to us; — and golden truths will be re- 
ceived with avidity; the dross will be thrown out of circulation.— 
Our Franklins, our Jejfersons, our Jldrains, Boivditclies, and Craigs, 
our learned statesmen and divines, chemists and geologists, shield us 
from general reproach, with regard to political and moral science, ma- 
thematical and physical knowledge; but as none of their beams appear- 
ed on this occasion to be reflected on the ministers of the press, I could 
not prevent a little suffusion of shame at the injured credit of our com- 
munity. — Still, this is a venial sin, we may say, and other nations or fo- 
reign governments attempt impossibilities, which none but individuals 
dream of amongst us. England would sail to the arctic pole through 
ten or twelve degrees of solid ice; for, at no less distance does the line 
of perpetual congelation pass below the earth's surface. All the ar- 
dour of ambition cannot melt this crystalline mound; — but England in 
the hopeless trial, will ascertain the farthest bourne of navigation to- 
wards the polar regions, — if the "ultima Thule" is yet unknown. 



its mass being computed from a number of sections in all directions, and consist- 
ing of stone; these data being then compared with the known attraction and mag-- 
nitude of tbe earth, gave by proportion its mea?i density, which is to that of water 
as 9 to 2, and to common stone as 9 to 5: from which very considerable mean 
density, it maybe presumed that the internal parts contain great quantities of metals. 
[See Hutton's Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary, and Mathematical 
Tracts:] 

If to half its depth from the surface, the earth be composed of the ordinary 
materials known to us, the residue of the globe from thence to the centre must 
be of the density of solid iron, which is to water as about 7 to 1, or T645 to 1000. 
fSee tables of specific gravities second volume. J 



15 

It was with feelings somewhat similar, that I beheld Symmes's pro- 
positions and the Voyage to South America. On reading this work, 
one is puzzled to decide, whether incompetency or depravity had the 
greater share in its composition. It is indeed a nice point to deter- 
mine whether poverty of knowledge or contempt for veracity has the 
superiority. — When a thing of this kind appears on a subject likely to 
implicate our individual character with foreign states, or people, it is 
paying them but a decent tribute of respect to repel the insult where 
it is given, and vindicate our own fame by a just regard to that of 
others. — It would probably save much foolish acrimony, were each na- 
tion to make an erratum of its own errors on these delicate points. It 
naturally belongs to every society to foster the virtues and chastise the 
vices of its own members; to expose delinquency, and reward merit. — 
These letters will be an attempt in favor of the moral justice here re- 
commended. — The want of some information on this head is remarkably 
proclaimed in the following extract from a periodical work deservedly 
popular and truly respectable, — a work, which has much influence on 

fiublic opinion, because it is conducted with assiduous labour and abi- 
ity, by a gentleman known for his disinterestedness and public spirit: 
— In Niles's Weekly Register of the 30th of October, 1819, appeared 
the hyperbolical commendation which follows: — 

"Brackenridge's Voyage to South America. — This interesting work 
is just now published, in two neat octavo volumes, price five dollars. 
Some extracts from it have been presented to the readers of the Regis- 
ter, and we venture to say that it contains a greater mass of import- 
ant information respecting the countries visited, than ever before, 
and all together was known to the people of the United States. — 
Every body is acquainted with the fitness of Mr. B. for a work like 
this; and he has executed the task in his very best manner." 

It seems impossible that the editor could have written this puff. — A 
glance at the antiquated, ridiculous map, prefixed to the "Voyage," 
would have convinced him how little our author had profited by the 
modern labors of Messrs. BPArcy de la Rochette and Humboldt. 

If every body be not aware of the learned Secretary's qualifications 
for a work requiring capacity, elevation of mind, generosity of heart, 
devotion to truth, and attachment to principles of liberty, it will be 
my fault if his talents as a writer are not better known. Neither 
in authorship nor in politics, you see, any more than in geometry, is 
it safe to decline judging for ourselves for a single instant. We ought 
to be answerable to the Supreme Author of Intelligence for the use or 
abuse of our intellectual faculties; and to ascertain our diligence or 
remissness in this trust, "must be, (as Sterne says of another matter,) 
the great use of the day of judgment." It would no doubt be a great 
advantage to morality, and for aught I know, to theology, if this day 
of reckoning were- appointed to each mortal man and woman during 
lifetime, (and betore the epoch of dotage;-) because the moral world 
like the commercial, suffers grievous calamities, distress and bank- 
ruptcy, by an excessive extension of credit. — How far drafts on the 
treasury of the next world should settle accounts in this, I dare not 
presume to discuss, lest "the Cordeliers should be upon my jacket". — 



16 

That class of gentry have an observatory of their own, and pretend to 
see objects unknown to others. — No man must venture within their 
precincts, or take up their spy-glass, under risk of anathemas. It 
would seem to be some apology for entering consecrated limits, that 
the present generation are devout, and the age may be entitled piousi 
Does not Alexander the Deliverer, — whose triumphs we celebrated 
with orations and revelry in this republic, — does not he, the august 
autocrat of all the Russias, and Poland into the bargain, preside one 
day at a Missionary and Bible Society; — extinguish the press by an 
ukase the next, and offer 400,000 bayonets, (the slaves who carry them 
are not worth counting,) to exterminate the reformers of Germany? — 
As this age is also distinguished by another extravagance, that might 
be called precedent run mad; when the pattern of weakness or profli- 
gacy is converted into a system, — when fact is seized to annihilate 
principle, and subject reason to the authority of folly; — what harm 
would it be at such a time to steal a proverb from Solomon or Sancho. 
if it be adapted to the purpose? I think it only necessary to protest 
against the frequent cant use of scripture, which I detest still more 
than the cant of criticism. — In the repositories of princely wisdom, 
there are truisms and denunciations sufficient to authorise this review, 
if I had no other grounds for undertaking the residencia. 

"A faithful witness will not lie, [that's certain;] but a false witness 
will utter lies." c. xiv. 4. 

"A righteous man hateth lying; but a wicked man is loathsome, and 
cometh to shame." c. xiii. 5. 

"A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh 
lies." 

'•A false witness shall not be unpunished: and he that speaketh lies 
shall perish." c. xix. 9. 

Of which all concerned may take due notice, and govern themselves 
accordingly. — But, I must disclaim all this authority; it being now for- 
bidden by all the laws of courtesy, or even common civility to give any 
son of Adam the lie. That remnant of pious and heroical politeness 
went into perpetual exile with chivalry — In its meridian indeed, ap- 
peals were made to the Deity every day, to witness a solemn duel, and 
give victory to justice. This part of the request being unregarded, — 
superior prowess and dexterity won the wager of battle, and the cus- 
tom ceased when it was discovered that Omnipotence would not deign 
to be a partizan in the frays of despicable mortals. I leave it to di- 
vines (who know all about it!) to judge how presumptuous it was to 
require the Great Supreme to become a second or bottle-holder, in a 
prize-fight between nations or individuals, like Homer's factious Gods. 
When kings and nobles had arbitrated in vain the accusation of the 
count of Estaviel, against Otho, lord of Granson, the former in full 
assembly renewed his charge of murder, and threw down the gage of 
battle. No sooner had he finished than Otho, then sixty years old, rose 
indignantly from his seat, and having signed himself with the sign of 
the cross, addressed the judges in turn: — 

"In the name of the Holy Trinity, of St. Anne, and of the Blessed 
Daughter, I do here declare Gerard of Estaviel to be a liar. There 
are ample grounds, most noble lords, upon which I might defer this com- 



17 

bat, in which it is my intention to prove his falsehood, viz. that we 
might have time to purify our souls betore God, to examine our limbs, 
if they are sound and healthful, and to prepare our horses and arms 
for the fight. &c. &c. But there lives not the man whom Otho of 
Granson fears. To-morrow, this very moment, most valiant knights, 
am I prepared to maintain my own innocence, and to prove the false- 
hood of my antagonist. "This day have I reached my sixtieth year." 
(See Nay lor' s Helvetic Republics, vol ii. 152.) 

Such was the principle, and such the practice of that age. Equal 
asseverances, pro and con, were the prelude to every duel. Thus 
Shakespeare copies the usage, in Richard II. 

Bolingbroke, for what I speak 

My body shall make good upon this earth, 
Or my divine soul answer it in Heaven. — 
Thou art a traitor and a miscreant, &c. 

Mo-wbray. — I do defy him — and I spit at him; 
Call him a slanderous coward, and a villain! 
Meanwhile, let this defend my loyalty, 
By all my hopes, most falsely doth he lie. 

If we are not less superstitious now-a-days, we are less rude, — and 
certainly more reasonable. Men being equal to one another in asser- 
tion, it is a wholesome custom, which demands from disputants, their 
proofs. Instead of tilting before the public, as heretofore on neighing 
steeds, the parties are summoned to reason the case before that awful 
judge. — The pen supplants the spear; knightly harness gives way to 
solid argument, to impartial testimony, and indisputable facts. The 
forfeiture, however, is severer than before. There, it was less of life; 
now, the blight of reputation. The revolution is favorable to social 
reason, morals and justice. Contests are reduced to a comparison of 
opinions, and an exhibition of evidence. Yet, when the pen is perverted 
to inflict a slanderous stab, it ought to be turned (for truth) against the 
assailant; and, that is my resolve: — 

"He that is first in his own cause, (says Solomon again) seemeth just, 
but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him." 

The right of search is now conceded — if not to the privy council 
and judicature of Britain; at least, to the physical force of her navy; 
and constitutes a sort of rule in parallel cases. He who refuses to sub- 
mit to it, is fired into as if he were a pirate. — In truth, the last text 
may be regarded as a search-warrant; by virtue of which, and of my 
own impulse, I intend to recover the truth amidst the lumber of error, 
which our "Secretary" has heaped over it. I shall endeavor to correct 
the reckonings of our voyager, and calculate his lee-way, when I find 
him egregiously at fault,— yelping false notes like an untrained beagle. 
If you please, my friend, 1 pray you to bear us company. With such 
a Mentor, the ardent enquirer would seldom run on shoals, and the de- 
votee of truth and independence, be more rarely cast away on the 
bleak, icy shores of ingratitude. As you have condescended to minis- 
ter to my pleasure and instruction, by a frank disclosure of your sen- 
timents on the most ticklish subjects, I shall repay your confidence in 
the tribute of grateful esteem, and consult you without reserve. Should 
C 



IS 

I employ a little ridicule in this epistle, I do not use it as a "test ot 
truth," but a good caustic for untruth. 

To write comments on the numberless blunders of this Voyage, sin- 
gulatim, as children heap up hillocks of sand, would not only swell the 
review to a mountainous bulk, but murder method, and exhaust your 
patience. Though its incoherence renders it difficult to systematize 
this notice, T shall attempt to give you some samples of his reasoning 
and mode of thinking on various subjects; then detect misstatements 
in history, law, geography, and substitute the truth in their stead. — 
"We shall thus unravel the intricacy of plots and parties, and discover , 
that the Voyage is resolvable, like all erroneous books, into errors of 
fact, false logick, and mistaken opinions: that the author labors to sup- 
port a distinction between independence and liberty, and becomes a 
hitter partizan against the advocates of the latter, in Buenos-Ayres, 
Chili, Banda Oriental, &c. while he defends their antagonists with all 
his powers: that he endeavors to soothe prejudices and apologises for 
Brazilian tyranny and aggression, in order to conciliate corruption. — 
Falling into frequent discrepancies, he often answers himself, and 
shortens the reviewer's task in exposing absurdity. 

I was in hopes of his amendment from the dignified castigation he 
had received from a South American* gentleman in Philadelphia, for 
his unfeeling censure against the people of Pernambuco. In his letter 
to Mr. Monroe, our voyager had confessed, in page 34, that, in the late 
contest with England, the "King of Brazils leaned rather to the side of 
our enemy;" yet; he says in the next breath, — " I must confess, I felt 
hurt at the manner in which the late insurrection was noticed in our 
newspapers. With respect to the insurrection at Pernambuco, we were 
led into an error by confounding it with the struggle of the patriots, 
while their situation and their cause were, in fact, very different; 
whatever we may think of the form, the Brazilians had already obtain- 
ed the great object for which the Americans are contending, — a gov- 
ernment within themselves!" Sfe. i. e. a despotical king. 

He fi felt hurt!" why my friend? — the slave was in the vicinity of the 
Brazilian minister, when he wrote his foolish, flippant, depraved letter 
on South America. He did not "feel hurt" at the infernal cruelties prac- 
tised on the unfortunate insurgents of Pernambuco, who were subject- 
ed to barbarities more savage than Castlereagh inflicted on the reform- 
ers of Ireland; or the usurpers of Buenos-Ayres on the republicans of 
Chili; he felt nothing tor the miseries of the innocent! His cominisse- 
ration was for the exquisite sensibilities of the king of Brazil, whose 
oppressions forced his subjects into rebellion. — Observe, sir, that I con- 
vey no censure on the minister of that power; it is laudable in him to 
discharge his ambassadorial duties fairly; but it is baseness in an Ame- 
rican citizen to volunteer so officiously and obsequiously, in offering 
his sympathies for royalty; his reproaches against the people of Per- 
nambuco! " It is base to be a bond-man." 



*Yes; the sages of the South have already given lessons, and dealt reproof to 
our conceited pettifoggers! — Vast indeed are oier interests, moral, political and com- 
mercial, in the liberty and f elicit 11 of Spanish America. 



19 

This abominable doctrine of our "Secretary," could not stand the 
ordeal of examination; How could it? — It inculcates passive obedience 
to tyrants, as the duty of men! I extract a few sentences from the 
excellent reply: — 

" So then, because he removed from the Tagus to Rio-Janeiro, are 
the Brazilians already bound forever to obey the will of this despot, in 
preference to the will of God?" [He had previously proved from scrip- 
ture and history, the right of resistance. ,] 

" According to this new political maxim, the sanguinary contest of 
the Americans, in the Spanish colonies, will be at an end, as soon as 
Ferdinand the Seventh removes thither, with all his train of tyranny, 
all his pomp of superstition, and his Supreme Council of Inquisitors. 
"Then the provinces of Spain will have a right to rise, because the fo- 
cus of despotism has retired from them." 

" You cannot be ignorant, that in Brazil, there is no constitution; no 
representative government, nor law deserving this holy name. All the 
Brazilians are slaves, because they all depend on the will of an indi- 
vidual, which can never have any claim to the respectable character of 
a law. That which is properly called law> is the expression of the ge- 
neral will, &c. The forced duty of blind obedience is the only right 
which, under this deceitful denomination, is acknowledged in the pro- 
vinces of Brazil, by their oppressor. And yet, you «vill have it be a 
crime to undertake the reformation of this abuse, by means of an in- 
surrection — the only way to obtain it from a tyrant, who considers as 
high treason, the attempt of setting constitutional impediments to his 
arbitrary power!" 

When his absurdities had drawn forth this masterly refutation, I 
supposed that the "Secretary to the Mission," would, thenceforward, 
weigh his paradoxes before publication; or that, if he could not abstain, 
he would contrive to make his " failings lean to virtue's side." I was 
mistaken: he flatters your admired friend, the Abbe, very grossly, and 
censures his supposed opponents as coarsely. You cannot be ignorant 
of the motive, as adulation has but one purpose. 

Our voyager complains very feelingly in the preface, of the impos- 
sibility of comprising an account of every thing valuable on the subject 
of his enquiry in two small volumes. 'Tis true; but his work, under 
a judicious plan, might have comprised an enchanting variety of im- 
portant matter, as certain fluids, by compression, occupy less space in 
a mixed, than a separate state. — Yet, he jumbles events, institutions, 
and geography, from California to Cape Horn, in such an incoherent 
mass, that, (in his introduction) there is little or no distinctness. 

You will probably deny the correctness of his assertion: "what is 
wanted at present, is not so much a work, embracing the necessary in- 
formation on South America generally, as one that should create a de- 
sire to be informed." No; no; it is the "necessary information we want, 
and nothing else. — A reader will not peruse two volumes to excite 
curiosity, but to satisfy it. The sound of a ten years' revolution, the 
incidents of war, the struggles of factions had already inflamed our de- 
sire to the highest pitch. What institutions are likely to be reared by 
our southern neighbors? What is the character of the leaders? Will 
the delightful region of the Oriental Banda be conquered by the king of 



m 

Portugal, and his allies in Buenos- Ayres? or can its hardy defenders 
persevere in an unequal war against Spain, Brazil and La Plata? These 
are questions which the people ask. Bland and Poinsett have given 
them much valuable intelligence, and they are athirst for more. The 
commerce of South America, and the Pacific, though it may soon be 
worth 15 or 20 millions of dollars a year to this nation, does not inte- 
rest us so strongly as the character and issue of the war. 

In the preface, page 9, our voyager acquaints us with the proficien- 
cy he had made in the Spanish language, literature and law, Sec. while 
he resided in Louisiana, "part of the time as one of the judges of the 
state." It seems, however, that he was a very indifferent judge of the 
language, for he could not hold a conversation in it at Buenos-Ayres: 
the commissioners were necessitated to employ a Mr. Riglos, as inter- 
preter, in their interviews with D. Gregorio Tagle, the secretary of di- 
rector Puerreydon, &c. 

What his law knowledge is, we may judge from his asserting, vol- 
ume 1, page 62, that Cabildos are popular assemblies; in page 64, he 
corrects himself: " the Cabildo, however, is far from being a popular 
assembly, according to our ideas." He ought to have settled the de- 
bate in his own mind, rather than commit contradictory assertions to 
writing. To fifty passages, I might apply the same remark: 

The revolution, he tells us, page 35, vol.1, has been much affected by 
feuds between great and rival families, &c. That has happened in some 
of the provinces; but will not afford a palliation for arbitrary measures 
in Chili or Buenos-Ayres. San Martin and Puerreydon are far from 
noble; and the republican exiles, though respectable, aspired not al- 
ter power on family pretensions. — The Carreras were distinguished by 
talents and qualities that command respect every where; but were not 
noble, in the vulgar acceptation of the term. O'Higgins is not noble, 
though descended of a president, being ol a nothus filius, or natural son. 
The disorders of "feuds" proceed from parties, not families: Aristo- 
crats and monarchists in one rank; republicans in the other. Do not 
carry this fallacy too far! Fling down the fardel here, and travel with 
a lighter load! 

In page x. of the preface, he disavows party-spirit, in relation to 
leaders in South America. He soon forgot himself; since he makes 
free to censure Paraguay, and of course, her chieftains and people, for 
a "timid, selfish, and narrow-minded policy, during the present revo- 
lution," while ''Buenos Ayres (formerly the boast of loyalty,) is now 
the blazing revolutionary comet of the Sonth;" page 81, vol. II ; at page 
87, ib. he abuses the people of Cordova, or its inhabitants, of "despe- 
rate fortunes and character," for a friendly predilection towards the 
people of Santa-Fe; though in page 86, he admits that "the rich produc- 
tions of Cordova" were perishing for want of a market; and this em- 
barrassment, he knew, was created by the ambition of Buenos-Ayres.* 
How did he learn the character of individuals in Cordova? 



* I mean the leaders who command the military force; monopolize the civil 
power, and direct the treasures of the country. Authority being 1 united in a few 
hands, the people (as Dr. Horsley said of another country,) have little, or nothing- 



2i 

He is a strange sort of apologist, I think: "In fact, (page 275, vol. I.) 
it is chiefly by the commerce with Paraguay, that the sailors of the ri- , 
ver are formed; as it was there also, that the only vessels used in its 
navigation were constructed." This was at his conversation with the 
skipper and conk, on La Plata, who taught him politics, revealed char- 
acters, and unfolded profound policy, lie also learned that sloops as- 
cended to Assumption, 11 or 1200 miles up the river, page 276; and 
in page 69, vol. II. he asserts,, that it is navigable for small vessels, 
from lat. 16, without the slightest interruption. But in page 92, ib. 
he speaks contemptuously of Santa-Fe, 300 miles above Buenos-Ayres, 
"as too high up the river for sea vessels to ascend with facility,"* to 
enable it to rival Buenos-Ayres. — "I notice it at present, merely to 
refute the charge of a monopolizing spirit alledged against Buenos- 
Ayres," &c. Well! has he refuted it? No; he admits it. "That such 
a spirit does exist, I have no doubt; but it is the same that prevails in 
all cities, and in all countries." In like manner, the general turpitude 
of human nature, though it is rather unfair and untrue to alledge it, may 
be pleaded in excuse of particular crimes, and the robber may say, 
"you would all rob if you had the opportunity. "--Santa-Fe never 
sought a monopoly; she desired the right of importing and exporting 
commodities freely; — Buenos-Ayres forbade it; and the citizens of San- 
ta-Fe rose in mass to resist the unjust pretension. 

At page 99, he retracts most of his previous assertions; — "The town 
of Santa-Fe is in many respects favourably situated for trade, but it 
is too high up to be the emporium of the countries situated on the ri- 
ver, and its branches;" &c. This may be disputed, as the navigation 
is not difficult, and her position gives her an advantage over Buenos- 
Ayres in the trade of the interior. "The products also of Cordova 
and some of the interior districts, are brought here, and carried down 
to Buenos-Ayres to be exported."— 

We cannot prevent this man from refuting himself. 

"I question much whether any but an American or an Englishman" 
has "a clear notion of the distinction between legislative, executive, 
and judicial functions", vol. I. page 66. Yet the distinction origina- 
ted with Montesquieu, (if he did not copy Aristotle,) and was adopted 
by Blackstone, though inapplicable in the British system. How a man 
of our voyager's erudition could thus stumble in his own profession, 
is "passing strange;" especially as he seems to boast in the preface of 
his acquirements. — We cannot affirm however, that the invention is 
so important in practice as it might be. In the United States there 
has been much cavilling about the division of power; but the object 
was left too much out of sight. — Judicial usurpation has been the con- 
sequence — for want of due responsibility.— In truth, every branch of 
government is an agency for special purposes; and, the accountability 
of the trustee to the people is the only pledge of freedom.— If a man 
make a partition of his estate into ten or a dozen portions, and alien- 
to do with the laws, but obey them. Mr. Adams had truly said, that many peo- 
ple had no more voice in forming the constitution, than in the climate of their 
country. — A case in point. 

* Sebastian Cabot sailed 200 leagues up the same river. 



ate it without bond or condition, he is a pauper.— So, if the people 
were stupid enough to rest tranquil under assumptions that filch away 
their dearest inheritance, they are- enslaved. — Whether the robbery is 
perpetrated by representatives, or judges, it is all one— their power 
is, (as Taylor says) like Lear's after he divided his kingdom among 
his three daughters.— 

Page £13, volume II. "I saw a translation of 'Bissett's Sketch of 
Democracy', which I was informed by the booksellers, had met with 
a rapid sale.* This work might possibly have a salutary effect on a 
people who are in danger of running wild in their notions of liberty; 
and who, like the French, would be desirous of taking Greece or 
Rome as their model. — It selects all that is bad in the ancient or mo- 
dern republics". 

Unless an impure fountain can send forth limpid waters, I cannot 
readily conclude how a set argument against republicanism, can ope- 
rate in its favour.— It met with "a rapid sale," and was extolled by the 
members of government, while republican sentiments were fi owned out 
of countenance, some of their promulgators shot, and others arbitrarily 
banished after a jury bad acquitted them. Witness the fate of Pazos, 
and the more unfortunate editor of the Independent! 

Again, — page 214, ib. "The French is much more familiar to them 
than the English, which is perhaps to be regretted, as the French re- 
volutionary politics have been proved by experience to be unsafe." 

This may be controverted; as France pressed on all sides by the 
troops of the coalition, was obliged to divert her proper cares from 
political research, and rush almost in mass to the field of battle. Her 
principles therefore had not and could not have a fair trial, while she 
was contending for existence. This mania against French principles 
misbecomes an American. It reminds us of the anti-republican frenzy 
of 1798, when so many of our fellow-citizens were stung by a British 
tarantula. Let us not complain of our voyager's ambiguity; for he is 
very candid elsewhere. But we must deny his position for another 
reason. France is reviving in proportion as she looks towards the 
principles, the decried principles of the revolution, as those who 
were bitten in the wilderness were healed by looking on an image of 
the serpent.~Is it not still true, that "the history of kings is the mar- 
tyrology of nations?" So much conviction was there in the eloquent 
discourses of that epoch that coalesced Europe, subsidized by England, 
took the alarm, and crushed the revolution by force: — It is unkind to 
wound Freneh feelings as our author does— by illiberal taunts: I must 
exclaim with Lafeu in the play, of all such Voyagers: — "They are 
bastards to the English; the French ne'er got them!" 

These notions account in part for the acerbity of the Secretary to- 
wards general Jlrtigas: "He is under the guidance of an apostate 
priest, of the name of Monterosa, who acts as his secretary; and writes 



*Of this abusive monarchical work, more hereafter. It was translated by C. 
Ifenriquez, the government printer, with studied panegyrics by way of preface 
and dedication, to the congress: I shall give them, or the substance of them in 
the sequel. 



28 

his proclamations and letters; for although Artigas has not a bad head, 
he is by no means good at inditing. — Monterosa professes to be in the 
literal sense, a follower of the political doctrines of Paine; and pre- 
fers the constitution of Massachusetts as the most democratic, without 
seeming to know that the manners and habits of a people are very im- 
portant considerations.'" page 241, vol. 1. 

Would to God! that his political doctrines were every where follow- 
ed in the literal sense! — The coarsest, most rancorous aspersions in 
the Euenos-Ayrean pamphlet against Artigas are levelled at his doc- 
Jn'nes, his exalted ideas, his disorganizing precepts. We now under- 
stand the motives of loyal gentlemen perfectly! — To be more explicit, 
if possible, our Secretary censures the circulation of another republi- 
can work: 

" Among the productions issued from the press during the first year 
of the revolution, I observed a translation of Rousseau's Social Com- 
pact, by Dr. Moreno. f The translation is well executed, and seems 
to have been much relished by the middle class of people. But it is 
difficult to say, whether it was not more injurious than beneficial" &c. 
page 205, vol. II. 

Bissett's Caricature of Democracy, as he thought "might possibly 
have a good effect;" Rouseau's masterly reasoning in vindication of 
civil liberty might only produce disprofit, or "be more injurious than 
beneficial!" Nothing can please him but paradox, or high, seasoned 
abuse. 

To banish republican sympathies, our voyager warns us of the fa- 
tal consequences of indulging them to excess 1 The following is match- 
less: — i 

"There is; no danger for the present at least, that the great body of 
the American people will look upon monarchy with a dangerous com- 
placency: (if they imitate his example there would be some hazard,) 
— but there is danger of their declining, on account of their antipa- 
thy to certain forms of government, friendly and profitable relations 
with foreign states." 

Sacrifice our foreign trade for the sake of republican principle! Such 
a disparate is worthy of a Shawanese, or a lunatic; 

It is the very error of the moon — 

She comes move near the earth than she was wont, 

And makes men mad." 

Look on the contrary at our sacrifices for commerce and foreign in- 
tercourse. With what nation, tribe, or people, black, white, red, taw- 
ny, coppery, mestizo, or quadroon, of locks straight or curled, — Hot- 
tentots, Malays, Mamelukes, Manilla-men, Chinese, Turks, Jews s 
Brahmins, children of the sun, or under the sun, have we not traffick- 
ed? Commerce has been generally free as the winds. — From the 4th 
of March 1789, till the 31st of December 1815, the expense of foreign 



fThe most enlightened and distinguished citizen of* whom Buenos-Ayres could 
boast, — the mainspring of the revolution, and author of the best institutions of 
the country — It may be said that he formed his mind by French literature. 



24 

intercourse, including that with the Barbary powers amounted to gl4, 
S25,333::40. (See Seybert's Statistical Annals, page 713.) Add to 
this the appropriations for naval defence, chiefly incurred on account 
of commerce, and you will have a swinging item. — Much greater is 
the danger that we may degenerately immolate principles on the com- 
mercial altar. — Were it not indeed a question of too much magnitude 
for a cursory digression, I would enquire in this place, whether we 
ought not to discontinue two-thirds of the diplomatic expenditure 
forthwith? whether we ought not to recall ministers resident from all 
foreign courts, leaving consuls only in their ports, to attend to the in- 
terests of trade? On occasions of moment we could more eligibly dis- 
patch special ambassadors. Intrigue, (in which we are no novices at 
home,) is increased by a residence in the purlieus of monarchies, where 
it is more studied than the law of nations. Our statesmen me vitiated: 
they return adepts; and naturally practise the arts in which they excel: 
the citizens are debauched by force of example. Republican simplici- 
ty is sent into exile. — Many do not hesitate to declare that they dis- 
cern in this diplomatic extravagance, and the infectious mimicry 
which follows, — the minnings of the disease, that threatens our repub- 
lic with a premature grave. — Our dignity would perhaps be best con- 
sulted by withdrawing from superfluous connexions in Europe. We 
have no influence in her congresses, — no direct interest in her quar- 
rels. Her priciples and ours are immiscible. Let us pay less court 
to Europe, and more attention to South America. Let us never appear 
in the incongruous character of a friend to our foes, and a foe to our 
friends. — T trust we never shall! — ''There" said De Pradt, speaking of 
the United States, "there exists the furnace which continually heats 
the flame of independence.'*! We give the patriots the benefits of our 
example, — if no more. — Many of them complain of our coldness.— But 
to return: Did our "Secretary" intend by the finesse to extend our re- 
lations to New Holland, — that "magnificent field for the enlightened 
scientific traveller?" page 1,54, vol. 1. Since he speaks the Shavvanese 
language quite as fluently as he does Spanish, did he mean to recom- 
mend himself for minister plenipotentiary to that terrestrial paradise? 

"No proposition can be more clearly proved than that the prosperity 
of one nation is a general benefit to all. To illustrate the subject by 
a familiar comparison, what man in any kind of business would not 
rather place himself in the midst of a hundred free and industrious fa- 
milies than in the neighbourhood of a planter, the master of as many 
slaves?" p. 86, vol. I. 

This is correct doctrine: but, by the time the consistent Secretary 
has travelled to the 156th page, he forgets his own principle as just 
laid down. On surveying the "vast capacities and resources of Bra- 
zil," he recoils at the idea of a destined rival. Hear himself:— 

"Looking at the Brazils therefore, as a rival, and in the nature of 
things she must be such, it may be well that she is placed under a race 
of kings, not likely to inspire the nation with the formidable energy 



fOn the Colonies, page 333. 



25 

of our republic, but rather to dissipate the force of the body politic in 
childish projects and royal extravagance." 

Which of these propositions is right? One of them must be wrong, 
— unless it be possible to extract equal good from prosperity and from 
ruin. Whatever be the resources of the Brazilian empire, it is illibe- 
ral and irrational to maintain that they are disadvantageous to us. 
Emulation-is a saving principle; an honest rival is a friend in disguise. 
JImbition or avarice alone can dread rivalship: the one wishes domin- 
ation, the other sighs for monopoly. What gained ancient Rome by 
her perfidious and barbarous destruction of Carthage? — License to ruin 
herself. What has England acquired by her malignant crusade against 
France? — Distress and slavery. What does a dominant party acquire 
in,; a state by stifling opinion and controuling suffrage? — Superiority 
and loneliness, — apathy and servitude! — If we can profit by the wretch- 
edness of Brazil, then it would be "well" that all Spanish-America 
were "placed under a race of kings" to render it powerless. There 
is among nations as among individuals, a cheering incentive of fellow- 
ship, which cannot be removed with safety. The arts would retrograde, 
— morals decline, and genius languish without the spur of partnership 
— or associate exertion. — I might assert, that it were better to have 
hostile collision itself than be without a rival. — I cannot conclude there- 
fore from the whole current of history, or my slight acquaintance with 
human nature, that in this instance the "Secretary" has spoken like a 
statesman, philosopher or Christian. — Conquering nations may dread 
competition; all others have need of it. 

"Man is every where a noble and lofty being; and if the burthen 
which bows him to the earth be removed; if the slavish bands in which 
he is fastened are burst, he will suddenly rise with ease to the natu<- 
ral standard of his character." (Letter in appendix 326.) 

Through his whole work, he ridicules this worthy sentiment, and 
inveighs against its supporters as visionary theorists. (See page 67, 
vol. I.) "To visionary theorists it may appear an easy matter for a 
people to shake off their old habits, and to unlearn at once; but expe- 
rience and good sense forbid us to form any such expectation. I have 
heard it expressed by persons of some pretensions, that nothing is 
necessary but the introduction into any country, of the forms of free 
government, and that the people will at once be free as a matter of 
course. This is a great mistake. A people must be educated and pre- 
pared for freedom." — This stands in array against his former opinion: 
granting that it be practically and partially true, it is but an aukward 
apology for the military despotism which defers preparation, and delays 
education. To defend the military chiefs, he argues that they have to 
govern "a slavish and ignorant people," incapable of being emancipa- 
ted "suddenly." 

Like the clergy whom he describes, vol. I. page 70, he seems "suffi- 
ciently compliant to the party which happens to be uppermost." — ■ 
"With respect to men at present in power, Puerreydon and others, he 
[Mr. Sumpter] said they were the rational and moderate men of the 
country, who were aiming at something like a settled order of things; 
D 



26 

but that the people were of a restless and inconstant character, and fit 
subjects to be acted upon by turbulent demagogues." Page 125-6. 

But in an humble letter of apology, which our voyager wrote to a 
distinguished exile, relative to some passages in his letter on South 
America, the voyager says that his impressions are very unfavorable to 
Puerreydon: yet he could not distinguish between the people and go- 
vernment: if the latter were bad, it was the fault of the people: that it 
was in vain to tell us of hopes of better times, for of this we have no 
security. ( Letter of November 1, 1817, to Br. M. M.J 

It is untenable doctrine, that we cannot discriminate between the op- 
pressor and his victims, but wrap the cause of a country and its betray- 
ers in general confusion. There is as much difference between people 
and government, as between principals and agents, constituents and 
trustees. If the learned Secretary had studied the excellent political 
treatise of Mr. Taylor,* rather than retail the stale dogmas of Brit- 
ish lawyers and their admirers, he would avoid many blunders. 

With the subsequent sentences, I cordially agree. — "They (the South 
Americans) are capable of defending themselves, governing themselves, 
and of being free, in spite of all that may be said by narrow-minded, 
self-sufficient men. They expect friendship and good will from us, and 
have a right to expect it. If we cannot speak favourably of them, at least, 
ive ought not studiously to display what we conceive to betheir foibles and 
faults." — Excellent; not less excellent that the author disregards it all 
in the sequel, notwithstanding the paius he took (see preface 11 and 
12,) to acquire correct information. 

After this profession., we were surprised to discover so great a por- 
tion of his book appropriated to invectives against the most gallant 
republican chieftains and champions of the revolution. — The heroical 
Artigas, he pourtrays as a monster, on the authority of an anonymous 
pamphlet published by his enemies, and afterwards suppressed through 
shame — Did our author learn this law of evidence whilst a. judge in 
Louisiana? or did he acquire it from his intimate acquaintance, To- 
ledo the traitor? — The Llaneros or gauchos of the plains, the best horse- 
men in the world, and the terror of the Spaniards, he describes as dis- 
gusting savages, page 225, vol. I. &c. &c; having previously espied 
one asleep in a hovel, with myriads of flies around him, and no goddess 
to drive them away; had lank black hair, almost as coarse as the mane 
of a horse; no bad index of a robust frame. Had father Gumilla, and 



' * "An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United 
States:" by Johx Tayloii, of Caroline County, Virginia.— It is one of the profound- 
est works written in modern times, and inculcates the soundest principles in 
civil polity. I could not refrain from rendering to the author this undissembled 
homage of applause; respectfully suggesting to him the propriety of correcting 
some obscurities of style which it was difficult to avoid in disquisitions of an ab- 
struse nature.— In return for the instruction imbibed from that book, and in fur- 
therance of useful information, I make free to offer this advice. The subject 
exacts perspicuity, and a removal of little deformities or involutions: 



" Since the more fair and crystal is the skv, 
The uglier seem the clouds that in it fly!" 



27 

other divines have seen this hairy man, they would have been confirm- 
ed in their theory that the Indians were the progeny of the Jews, and 
this gaucho had appeared a lineal descendant of the unsJwrn Sampson 
himself, of whose hair we have heard things equally miraculous, though no 
commentator has written a word on his whiskers, about which Mr. Sec- 
retary is also silent. — Of the serious part of this subject, more anon. 

We had already known that a revolution was in progress, and it was 
desirable to ascertain its political character, the motives of its leaders, 
and probable issue. — But, says our voyager, page 236, "We neither 
know nor care who is the best patriot; all we look to is the great con- 
test between South America and Spain."— On the contrary, it is its na- 
ture solely we are interested in knowing; for we were aware of the 
fact already — and, a mere exchange of tyrannies would not deserve the 
name of revolution. 

Our voyager held an instructive dialogue (embodied in his book) 
with a skipper, cook and clerk, during his passage from Montevideo to 
Buenos-Ayres, on the sublime topics of politics, generals and politi- 
cians: page £70, vol. I. "When I informed them that I had heard that 
some among them were for having a king, they seemed to express some 
surprize, and said that they had got rid of one king, and it would be 
singular if they should already think of another.'' — They were honest, 
it appears, and therefore most unlikely to be in the plot: and the Sec- 
retary gravely and disinterestedly receives their negative testimony in 
preference to his own; — "against his better knowledge — not deceived, 
but fondly overcome" by some latent cause or causes! 

Yes; our voyager 'had warmly reprobated the machinations of the 
Buenos-Ayrean faction in favor of monarchy, before his departure from 
the United States. Writing on this subject from New-York, some time 
previously to a gentleman in Baltimore, he subjoins a familiar post- 
script, very like the iollowing: — 

I have seen the dunce of a Buenos-Ayrean minister in this city: — I have tried 
to draw all the information I could — but the fool knows nothing*. He repeated 
to me the same sentiment as to the government of Buenos-Ayres, that a kin* 
would suit them best! 

He had an official voucher then for the intention of the anti-re- 
publican faction; and he would disvouch it on a pretended conversa- 
tion with a skipper. He had likewise been apprized that San Martin 

acquiesced in the sentiment, though he was piqued at Don M. A • 

for divulging it so roundly.* This exhibits another view of the Secre- 
tary's idea of the comparative force of testimony, and of the best me- 
thod of sifting out truth from impartial and competent witnesses. 

From the opening of the 2d vol. to the 20th page, he relates the im- 
portant affairs of lodgings, and visits, &c. The most welcome visitors 
appear to be members of the government, or the dependants of men in 
place. When persons of a different cast, sought a conversation, and 
seemed to offer any thing unfavorable to his idols, the cidevant "judge" 



* This subject caused some noise in the United States at that time. United to 
the uproar made by deporting certain conspicuous republicans, it drew from ge- 



33 

appears either to have dismissed the witnesses, or spurned their rela- 
tions. — " I found ivith some regret, that the most unfavourable re-pre- 
sentations as to the state of things in this country, were made by 
some of our own countrymen. — These persons surrounded us, and were 
extremely anxious to be closeted in order to disclose damning secrets 
against the men in power $ as if it were the business of the mission to 
sit in judgment on the political conduct and motives of those who had 
the management of the government, like the visitadores under the Span- 
ish system." 



neral San Martin a zealous apology of summary proceeding's in a letter from San- 
tiago in Chili, February 12, 1818, addressed to a gentleman in Baltimore: He 
cites precedent, you see for tyranny: — 

"EngUnd, justly regarded as the centre of liberty, suspended, last year, the 
Habeas Corpus, at a time when national danger would not admit of judicial pro- 
ceedings. The opposition was strong and obstinate,- but at last the weight of 
reason and conveniency preponderated in favor of the counsel of the ministry. — 
Who doubts that deportation and death were sanctioned? and who would have 
preferred the conflagration of the city of London to the temporary suspension of 
judicial forms?" 

We confess, without admitting either premises or conclusion, that exile is hu- 
manity compared with the usurpation and assassination, since become the order o 
the day! — 

"I cannot conceive (says he) howDon Manual Aguirre could penetrate into the 
proposals which, he says, were made by my government to the king of Spain for 
placing his brother in the United Provinces, when he has not held any immediate 
station in the ministry; nor is it to be supposed that the hazardous steps of the 
cabinet would have been made public, — as it is to be remarked that since the 25th 
of May, 1810, public opinions has received several lessons in public administra- 
tion, and that such measures have been disavowed by the general sentiments o* 
the multitude." 

We consider this subterfuge as an admission of the fact: — If a public agent 
could not understand his government, who should? — Why were editors and citi- 
zens banished for animadverting on Belgrano's proposals, and why were others 
shot for publishing independent sentiments?— For, such was their offence! — 
Wherefore murder the republican chiefs of Chili ? 

Yes — you, San Martin, had the illustrious Rodriguez assassinated because he 
was a popular soldier and a republican. — Of this, more again. — You and your crea- 
tures seized and imprisoned Mr. Vera, a man of fine genius, and a poet, (a native of 
Santa-Fe,) and banished him to Mendoza-for what? declaring in favor of a Congress. 
Mr. Vbia, a Chilian of respected character, suffered the same punishment for the 
same exalted ideas. Chaveria, another citizen of reputation and integrity, was 
served in the same way. — Vast numbers were exiled for uttering their sentiments; 
but the most distinguished were put to death. — Most victims were made amongst 
the heroes of Coquimbo, who chiefly gained the battle of Maypu. 

You, San Martin! have exterminated the Carrjeras, (root and branch, it is be- 
lieved.) For what transgression did you, a stranger, imbrue your hands in the 
blood of popular worth like theirs ?— A gentleman, intimately acquainted with 



No, truly, the judge had no jurisdiction of that kind; but as Secre- 
tary to a Mission it was his duty to extract facts from any quarter, to 
ascertain the motives and principles of men in power — and, as an 
American citizen it was his "business" to hear his countrymen, and 
keep their secret too. — Their information was levelled against the men 
in power.! "There's the rub:" had it been against "men out of power," 
he would have opened both his ears: it would have been welcome though 
tendered by persons "connected with or friendly to the privateering 
interest:" page 20—21. How did he, who was there only a few weeks, 
presume to understand men or measures better than those who had re- 
sided there for years? — He then accepts the testimony of the men in 
power! and he was "a judge in Louisiana." 

As uvoyager delineating natural curiosities, describing men or paint- 
ing manners, we have not sufficiently attended to our author. In this 
department he is very amusing if not always original. — He saw flying 
fish on the passage to Rio-Janeiro, without mistaking them for birds, 
and beheld sable countenances ashore, which he regarded with no de- 
gree of pleasure. It is true, he would not condemn people by wholesale 
merely for their looks — or "very dark complexions." See pajre 119— 
122, vol. I. F ° 

In places where negroes are to whites as 15 to 1 the compound must 
be dark; It will require ages of bleaching.— But, I ask pardon, — it were 
mocking misery to be mirthful where the thought of the slave trade 
intrudes--it withers fancy in the bud as the sirocco of the desert blasts 
vegetation wherever it sweeps. 

events, says of this republican family. — "The aged father and his three sons are 
admitted by their worst enemies, to have been polished gentlemen of good edu- 
cation, talent, fortune, and general deportment. Considering the state of socie- 
ty in that country, they were all as remarkable for their capacity and literary at- 
tainments. Their popularity was extensive, but their enemies (like a certain class 
in England and the United States) sneered; — it lay among the lower orders! and I 
am inclined to believe it is true — because they were the advocates of the abolition 
of slavery; of considering the civilized and mixed Indians in the Pueblos as a por- 
tion of the people entitled to all the rights of citizenship. They -were in favour of 
elections, and sustained and encouraged cabildos popularly chosen, [which you, Sir, 
have abolished.] The Carreras curtailed the power of the clergy, and meant by de- 
grees to reduce them to an equality with other citizens. They had begun improve- 
ments about Santiago — they adhered to a Congress, however imperfectly chosen. 
From these reasons, and from the circumstances of their having been abandoned to 
the mercy of the royalists by the British in their mediation, as well as their being 
generally disliked by the advocates of aristocracy in Chili, I can entertain no doubt 
of the great republican principles which the Carreras had in view, and from their 
being proscribed and hunted down by a faction who argue that independence 
without liberty ought to content the people, you may judge of the political princi- 
ples of this hostile party," — And you, San Martin! who exercise Spanish despo- 
tism and cruelty, in the name of independence, — impartial history will decide whe- 
ther you are a republican soldier, or an assassin. — Your original letter is before 
me. — He was not a "Washington" who dictated it. 



30 

''Certain individuals (says De Pradt) form a horrible institution for 
their own profit: they place their fellow creatures in the most revolt- 
ing situation: a combat immediately commences between nature and 
that state: it cannot be maintained but in iron and with iron." — 

"You are cultivating your fields with tygers, and will you not one 
day or other be devoured? You transport Guinea to the colonies: 
will it not one day or other endeavor to become mistress in turn?" 

Alas! that exhortation and example are useless. Custom has blunt- 
ed southern feeling, and reconciled too many of our fellow citizens to 
the infernal crime of manstealing. How lamentable that so base a blot 
should be coeval with our Declaration of Independence! What a re- 
cord of inconsistency! We united for liberty, and combined against 
humanity on the same day. From the moment that the congress ex- 
punged the paragraph on the slave trade from our catalogue ot com- 
plaints against Great Britain, (inserted by Mr. Jefferson in the first 
draft of that immortal production,)—- from that moment the guilt was 
transferred to ourselves — it became all our own. That fatal compro- 
mise with southern states subsequently renewed, prolonged the evil 
till 1308, and threatens to perpetuate slavery forever.— If it must last, 
let it not spread!— In the picture of remorse drawn by a dramatic bard, 
a distracted accomplice in murder, delirious with anguish of conscience, 
imagines her hands are stained with the blood of innocence. All her 
efforts to wash it away are fruitless — 'tis indelible. Out damned spot! 
is her agonized exclamation!— Many of our slave holders on the con- 
trary are proof against compunction. — The foul "spot" is likely to re- 
main for ages. 'Tis too horrible.— 

The old congress and the convention, it must be observed, contem- 
plated a time for terminating the importation of Africans, and pre- 
venting, if necessary, the migration of" negroes already located. — All 
their acts declare this intention. — How did I glow with shame, when 
a majority of our House of Delegates lately passed a resolution for 
transporting negro-slaves from their old nurseries over all the new 
states! 

Jauuary 7th, 1820. 
•'HOUSE OF DELEGATES, ANNAPOLIS, 

"The Missouri question was settled in the House ot Delegates this 
day. Mr. Lecompte's resolution requesting our senators and repre- 
sentatives in Congress, to oppose any restrictions on new states, was 
adopted by a vote ot sixty to nine: 

"Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland. That our senators 
and representatives in Congress, be requested to use their utmost en- 
deavors in the admission of new states into the union, to grant to such 
states all the rights and privileges of the states heretofore admitted, 
without requiring as a condition of their admission, the inhibition of 
involuntary servitude, or any other condition, limiting their sovereign 
powers in a greater degree than the sovereign powers of the original 
states forming the union, are limited and restrained. 



31 

Resolved, That the governor be requested to transmit copies of the 
foregoing resolutions to each of our senators and representatives in 
congress. Per order. 

JOHN BREWER, clerk." 

You will duly admire the genius of legislation which guides the glory 
of Maryland! With guardians so liberal, independent, and pious with- 
al, what can harm us?— Some nevertheless censure them for want of 
knowledge and compassion: if they disliked emancipation, they were 
not bound to solicit an extension of negro-slavery. 

I regard the extension of negro slavery over two-thirds of our en- 
larging union, as a death-blow to the representative system. — The nor- 
thern, middle and some western states will comparatively decline into 
the condition of Colonies — The less will revolve round the greater bo- 
dy of black representation.— The fatal compromise of 1776, and the 
indulgence of 1787, will end in ruin. — At least, if slavery be allowed 
to spread, it ought not to be suffered to vitiate representation a mo- 
ment longer. 

This, 1 know, is a tender subject: I know too, it is a vital one. I 
will admit, that some of our purest republicans shone in the south, 
when monarchy and schism rose inauspiciously in the east. But, if 
funds and banks and all their viperous brood were hatched in this 
quarter, acquiescence came from that, — and the cancer is permitted to 
shoot forth fresh roots. — I cannot readily assent to the belief, that the 
perpetual example of slavery is necessary to foment republican senti- 
ment. Must I be a tyrant to be a freeman? Ts there no alternative, 
(as it has been written) between being hammer and anvil? Must we, 
like monarchical Spartans, keep the drunken slave before our eyes, to 
make us avoid inebriety? — But you will judge of this momentous sub- 
ject more sedatety. I do uot believe that the best feelings can mis- 
lead us. May our liberty and union be perpetual! 

Thanks to the i evolution of Spanish America! it has terminated the 
trade in Africans as to every independent state; while Cuba and Peru, 
ripe for independence, dare not declare it — lest they should on that 
signal be overpowered and desolated by hordes of negro slaves. These 
provinces must await external aid. It is supposed that about 60,000 
negroes are annually imported into Cuba, and a far greater proportion 
into Brazils. — It is not strange our voyager saw "very dark complex- 
ions" at Rio. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? 

England would have had some merit, (though the greatest slave-tra- 
der among nations,) if she had discontinued the accursed traffic before 
her colonies were surcharged with negroes: but she has forfeited all 
pretensions to applause by deferring the prohibition until it was extort- 
ed from her fears. The measure is due to the independence of St. Do- 
mingo, not to ministerial conscience. She trembled for her own em- 
pire, when a black one was reared alongside.. 

In the following table from De Pradt, the number is probably under- 
rated, we have altered that of the United States according to the evi- 
dent ratio of increase. 



32 



TABLE OF NEGRO SLAVES. NUMBERS. 

West India Islands 1,600,000 

Brazils, [underrated] <i 1,500,000 

Spanish America, do 600,000 

United States, * 1,800,000 

Total 5,500,000 



The slave population of Brazil, augmented by constant and enor- 
mous imports of Africans, and by natural multiplication, must now 
exceed 2,000,000 of souls. Another point in which we rival the 
subjects of "his most Faithful Majesty!" To the slave it matters lit- 
tle, whether he is crushed in a republic, or under a despotism. — They 
are rivals and equals to him. — Mature to be sure, is kinder to him in 
the genial climate of Brazil, than in the United States, where he shiv- 
ers half a year under a northern sky.— There is most probably a total 
exceeding six millions and a half of slaves, (if not seven millions) 
thrown into the American islands or continent.— Remaining in ser- 
vitude, they corrupt our habits, and debauch our sensibility to just- 
ice. — If we- jjossess a right to enslave Africans, we have a right to 
enslave one another.— \ hope however, there is enough of principle 
yet left in the United States, to prevent the slave dealers from diffus- 
ing the nursery throughout our South Western and North Western 
territories. Are we ambitious to spread Guinea through the finest por- 
tions of the republic? But, let us dismiss the dreary subject, and re- 
sume the peerless Voyage. Our author brings fairer objects in view. 

Much as the Secretary had read of kings, queens and princesses, 
(see page 130, vol. I.) he observed some of the breed for the first time 
without quaking. "The princess Leopoldina was distinguished from 
the rest by the fairness of her complexion; I saw nothing remarkable in 
her appearance, and there are thousands of my countrywomen [whom3 
I would choose in preference for a wife." 

If such rejection is not unprecedented, it was ungenerous to publish 
it to the world, and perhaps drive the princess to despair. The Secre- 
tary, like other small lawyers seems wholly governed by precedent 
in disregard of propriety. The grave author of the "History and Ad- 
ventures of the renowned Don Quixote" informs us of the sensibility 
of that hero to historic fame, "wishing for nothing more than a true 
representation of his fidelity, and the decorum he always preserved, in 
refusing queens, empresses, and damsels of all ranks," in attachment 
to his famed mistress Dulcinea del Toboso. 

You perceive, my friend, there is luckily some relief in this book. 
If we were never to laugh at its preposterousness, its malice would be 
insupportable. Though the mere effect of chance, its tragi-comic di- 
versification answers all the purposes of art. 



♦In 1810, our black population was 1,377,310; in 1816, about 1,650,000. Clan- 
destine importations and natural increase probably combine to raise it to the 
amount of 1,800,000; The slaves cannot be less than the number set down. 



33 

We find him next in Montevideo, returning; the kind urbanity of 
general Carrera with unprovoked calumny. See page 217 &c. vol. 1. 
He quotes the " Outline" of the revolution, dictated by one of his ene- 
mies and written by another, as impartial history ! Of this hereafter. 
Our voyager insinuates, that the general's narrative of the news of the 
day &c. was unfounded. " According to him, every thing had gone to 
ruin, the Spaniards had got possession of Conception in Chili, and 
were joined by the inhabitants : the people of Uuenos-Ayres were dis- 
tracted by factions, and on the eve of another revolution; while the 
greatest cruelty had been manifested by the present leader, to his fami- 
ly, in consequence of the attachment of the people, and their wish to 
have them as their chiefs." 

Is it not notorious that the Spaniards did capture Conception, and 
that they hold that Gibraltar of Chili to this hour ? O'Higgins's army 
was defeated in an attempt against it ? Why do not San Martin and my 
lord Cochrane reduce it, or take it by storm as Carrera once did ? How 
the Secretary could so placidly write slander against the illustrious re- 
publicans assassinated by o'rder of San Martin — while they were rotting 
in their graves, and their country subjugated by a foreign force in alli- 
ance with a domestic faction, is surprising — but not unaccountable. 

It is not possible, surely, that he could have received a fee for a pro- 
duction of this kind. — His propensity to adulation on one side, and to 
ingratitude on the other, unriddles the motive. 

Another volley against Artigas is accompanied or preceded by some 
explications of names, p. 241. " His followers are greatly attached to 
him. They address him by th^e familiar name of Pepe, which may be 
translated daddy." There never was such a translation as this, since 
folks of olden time used to be translated alive in fiery chariots to 
" kingdom come." If the learned secretary had turned to his diction- 
ary, he would have found, " Pepe, Pepa, proper names — Joseph, Jose- 
phine." Artigas may be the " father of his country" and of his troops, 
yet he is not daddy-fed by them. 

So, p. 302, vol. 1. "About forty miles north of this is a large village 
ealled Luxan, at which the road branches oft" for Cordova and Mendo- 
za" &c. — By referring to the map and to an excellent itinerary, this ap- 
pears to be a small mistake in geography of only three hundred miles;* 
a trifle for an author who labors to be exact and impartial ! Philologist, 
etymologist, geographer, or jurist, he shines alike. " None but himself 
can be his parallel," In viatic exercises this difference would have been 
more considerable than on paper ; and the painted directions in Lantern- 
land would have been literally very advantageous here. 

'•You who presume to move this way, 
" Get a good Lantern, lest you stray, 

As it to compensate the reader for his constant depredations on matr 
ter of fact, our author introduces the recreation of a bull-fight in the 
1st chapter of his 2d volume : 

* It is 99 Spanish leagues precisely from Luxan to Esquina de Medrano, where 
the road turns off for Cordova. 
E 



m 



34 

rt At one side of the toro [bull] there was a seat appropriated to the 
city authorities." p. 60. 

That seats should be assigned to the city authorities in contact with 
a furious beast is remarkable, because the Spaniards are strict in cere- 
monies of respect, and proverbially tenacious of etiquette. But, our 
Secretary was present, and saw for' himself ! 

ci Their irons [viz. the criminals,] were not taken off until imme- 
diately before entering the toro.'''' p. 61. How ? did the combatants 
go down his throat? He must then have resembled Phalaris's brazen 
bull, to punish convicts. What a monster ! when such was the capaci- 
ty of his paunch, there is nothing extravagant in his exterior dimen- 
sions : "A town major, — a band of music,— and a guard of soldiers 
about thirty in number, were distributed through different parts of the 
toro." What a tremendous bull indeed ! — Jupiter, though his tauri- 
form god ship swam the seas with miss Europa on his back, was a calf 
to him. Was ever organized being comparable to him ? Yes ; I re- 
collect one instance as authentic as this, of gigantic growths (but may 
have read many) that need not decline competition : — " Then did they 
[Pantagruel's army] put themselves in close order, and stood as near 
to each other as they could ; and Pantagruel drew out his tongue only 
halfway, and covered them all, as a hen doth her chickens." — So "that 
if the army had displayed column, and he had displayed his entire 
tongue., he could still overshadow them; for it is indubitable, that a cob- 
ler who claps on a pair of half soles, could stitch and peg a pair of 
whole ones ; or the Secretary who writes two such volumes, may as 
conveniently write four or fourteen. • 

If there were 45 persons on this terrific bull, and the combatants 
within him, how much did he weigh ? To our deep regret the Secreta- 
ry is silent as the grave about it. The bullocks exhibited in Baltimore 
last year weighed about loOOlbs. — How is this? how could a Spanish 
scholar so accomplished as Mr. Secretary, happen to confound La Pla- 
za de Tor os with toro, the building with the beast ? He who began his 
accidence in Louisiana, and finished the philosophy of language in 
La Plata ! An ordinary school boy could not have made and repeated 
the mistake; but, great minds, intent on great speculations will forget 
words, though they are perfectly master of their elements — the alpha- 
bet. Yet, 1 confess. 

« It rais'd the whites of hoth my wond'ring eyes." 

At o. 243, vol. I. He gravely informs us that the corps of Blendingnes, 
was raised in order to extirpate the Montoneros or bands of marauders 
who infested the country — that these are so called from Montons, or 
" bands," &c. Neither of these phrases exists in the Castilian lan- 
guage. Monton-es, we find indeed, as well as Montanero-s, ranger, 
rangers, forester, woodsman. What a linguist ! — Common sense would 
have told him that rangers cannot march in heaps or bands through a 
dense forest : but, neither our Secretary's experience among the Shaw- 
anese nor his copious readings in Spanish (though he cannot decline a 
common noun substantive,) are very visible in his book. 

Solecism in language becomes in its consequence tantamount to pa- 
ralogism in logic. Our Secretary confounds an edifice or an arena 



35 

with a quadruped, as friar Gerund in the sermon, misreasons the chief 
personage of a convent into the head of the trinity. — Speaking of one 
class of combatants, viz. banderilleros, persons armed with darts and 
bannerols attached, lie calls them bandaleros, which bating a tor o sig- 
nifies highwaymen or banditti. For matador he writes mattadore ! This 
is the man, who presumes to criticise brief, pithy and faithful transla- 
tions ! 

Another proof of his attainments in Spanish, he furnishes in his des- 
cription of the festivity of Corpus Christi, — during which he says, the 
people shut up their shops, and abstained from labor for a whole week ; 
the ladies muttered ave marias through the streets, and (their) servants 
went before them to church. 

Spanish custom forbids the latter as an unpardonable misdemeanor 5 
the female attendants always follow those on whom they wait to 
church. Corpus Christi is a public procession, which continues about 
two hours, and religious exercises do notexceed the day. Our Voya- 
ger confounds the devotions of Holy Thursday in Fassion Week, with 
Corpus Christi, equivalent to putting Christinas for Easter. He must 
have often heard the phrases, as the Spanish Americans are polite and 
communicative ; bnt he did not stoop from ethereal contemplations per- 
haps to pay attention to words. — This makes a fearful deduction from 
the credit of his work ; for, with what accuracy can he paint the moral 
part of customs, &c. when he cannot sketch material things subjected 
to ocular inspection? His evil genius drove this man to write — For the 
future he will be less presumptuous, and listen to admonition. 
Nee tibi scribendi veniat tam dira cupido. 

Page 220, vol. I. Our voyager acquaints us with the "incombustible 
humboof a shady tr£e which graced the plains near Montevideo, and 
whose trunk is so sappy as to be useless for fuel. To what language 
the word humboo belongs, I cannot divine, and suspect it is an estray, 
that has lost its cast. — There is a tree quaintly named embudo, which 
answers to the properties of this, — lacks fissility and combustibility; 
the term denoting literally a funnel, and figuratively deceit, fraud,— 
q. d. cheat-tree, because its internal and real qualities do not corres- 
pond with its appearances. The animal world has some parallels! — 
Hey wood in his "Instructions" for steering up to Buenos-Ay res, page 
14, mentions JSmbudo; and the embudo trees, as landmarks,— the lat- 
ter giving their name to the former. See also the maps and charts of 
that countty and the river. 

Of mayorasgos or entailed estates, the learned "Secretary" has twice 
spoken, doubtless to give his doctrine double force with the unlearned. 
Hear himself. 

Page 46 — 47, vol. II. "Nobility has been entirely abolished since 
O'Higgins (or if you will, since San Martin, for I have heard him cen- 
sured for it by a British officer at Buenos-Ayres,) became director. 
Mr. Bland states in his Report, that the mayorazgos, or feudal privi- 
leges, have been in like manner abolished. What more important steps 
to elevate a people? A constitution! a constitution! some cry out." — 
Again, page 155. "The Creoles constitute the third class in point of 
number. These again are divided into the nobles, such as counts., 



36 

marquisses, mayorazgos (or owners of fiefs! J aud knights of different 
military orders." 

Here arc two palpable blunders made on a single word, a law-term, 
universally known.— He is continually aping the precedents of romance 
or of the remotest history. He had possibly read how "Pantagruel of 
one angel made two, which was a contingency opposite to the council 
of Charlemagne, who made two devils of one, when he transplanted 
the Saxons into Flanders, and the Flemings into Saxony." 

Judge Bland sifts every subject of history and law too closely to be 
capable of the misconception implied in the "Secretary's misstatement. 

In page 104 of his Report on Chili, he says: "The lands thus granted 
to the religious institutions being held in mortmain, were unalienable; 
and those large tracts granted to individuals were commonly entailed, 
and transmitted entire, as fettered inalienable inheritances, according 
to the principles of the Spanish law of primogeniture called mayoraz- 
go." He describes the pernicious effects "on husbandry, commerce, and 
the state of society generally,"— and tells us that the director by his edict 
of the 5th of June 1818, had abolished mayorazgos forever. — In the Ar- 
gos de Chili of the 11th, I have read a pertinent commentary upon the 
abolition. For one person that is dissatisfied, says the writer, ten are 
delighted. How inhuman! he argues, is the law which condemns the 
major part of a family to indigence in favor of a brother by casualty 
born first? The institution of mayorazgos, or feuds, originates in the 
paradox of preserving fortunes by maintaining them entire in an indi- 
vidual, and rendering real estates inalienable. 

The highly intelligent commissioner, who has gleaned up the most 
important documents in every place he visited, was in no need of any 
of them to inform him of the law of entails: but,*the "Secretary" would 
make him as learned as his Secretaryship! A mayorazgo is not the 
owner of a fief, any more than the cane or the crutch which a person 
carries, or the right of carrying it, is the person himself. — He confounds 
it with the feudal system, which he might have learned from Sullivan 
or Robertson, or a hundred historians and lawyers. 

Molina had already explained the subject of primogeniture, when 
Don Juan De Castillo wrote of usufruct. — See, on this point Sol- 
orzano's Politica Indiana, vol. I, page 241 — 2, in lib. iii. in chapters 
5, 6, 16 and 20, for an exact explanation of it in Peru. — The possessor 
of a mayorazgo could cede the usufruct *>f it for his lifetime; and the 
number of mayorazgos or entailed estates heritable by oife person was 
limited. Several particular regulations exist, in strict conformity with 
the principle. 

It was a pitiable omission in our Secretary, when he was delving in 
Spanish literature and jurisprudence in Louisiana, that he forgot to 
read a little of the Spanish annals. — Laborde has not failed to enrich 
his "View of Spain" with the learned and liberal Memoire of Jovel- 
lanos, "on the advancement of agriculture, and on the agrarian laws" 
of Spain — a production that ought to be studied in every country on the 
globe. Under the head of '•'Right of Primogeniture, or Majorats," he 
describes the detrimental influence of mayorazgos. A much greater 
proportion of unalienable property was vested in the different great fa- 



37 

uulies, than was held by the ecclasiastical bodies by mortmain tenure, 
"notwithstanding that mayorasgos were nut introduced in Spain till cen- 
turies after the clergy had begun to make territorial acquisitions." He 
contrasts this barbarous law with the juster principles of the ancients, 
who made property freely transmissible. 

"The ancient legislators, says he, gave an extensive latitude to this 
faculty of conveying property after death. Solon perpetuated it in his 
laws, and the Decemviri in those of the twelve Tables. Those laws, 
although they allowed children to inherit after the demise of their pa- 
rents without will, did not limit the testator; under the persuasion that 
in case of good children there would be no necessity, and that no fa- 
vor should be shown in case of bad ones. While Rome continued vir- 
tuous this liberty remained, but when depravity began to enfeeble the 
sentiments of nature, and to relax its bonds, men began to fix bounds 
to this privilege, till then of unlimited extent. Children became in- 
debted to the laws for what they might have vainly expected from vir- 
tue, and that which was considered as the restraint of corruption, be- 
came one of the most powerful means of encouraging vice. 

"Yet how widely has our legislature differed from the practice of the 
ancients! Neither the Greeks, Romans, nor any of the ancient legis- 
lators had extended the right of bequest beyond the immediate heir; 
and in fact, to extend it farther, instead of securing, would be to an- 
nihilate property; for to give a citizen the power of disposing of his 
property forever, is exactly the same thing as depriving of their right, 
all the proprietors who may in future succeed him." 

"Yet the vulgar herd of our lawyers, from a blind adoration of the 
Roman Institutes, desire to perpetuate majorats." &c. &c. 

He states that the Fuero Jazgo, which was the code of public and 
private justice in Spain down to the 13th century, contains not the 
slightest vestige of it. The barbarous establishment originated in the 
feudal laws; transferred, by the Spanish students of law from Bologna 
to Salamanca, and infused into the Alphonsine code, or laws of the Far- 
tidas. "This was the germ of that plant whose fruit is now so fatal." 

"And would to God, when they had introduced this destructive doc- 
trine, they had taken fiefs as their model in the establishment of ma- 
jorats. 

"The most ancient precedents of majorats in Spain, reach no higher 
than the fourteenth century, and they rarely occurred even in that 
period." "Legal men then began to remove the barriers, which the laws 
opposed to perpetual entail, till they were entirely abrogated in the 
15th century, by the Cortez of Toro." 

"But, admitting that majorats ( mayorazgos) are essential to the 
support of the nobility, how can they be justified in the plebeian classes 
of society?" 

Primogeniture then is not feudal privilege, since plebeians have then- 
share of it; nor is a raayorazgo, nobility. The abolishment of mayo- 
razgos in Chili has been unluckily followed by the creation of nobility 
and the extension of feudal privilege. — It may be hoped that our author 
now understands the difference between a circus and a hill, a mayo- 
razgo and a fief. — Had he comprehended it a little sooner, it might 



38 

have saved his reputation, by causing some erasures — amounting to 
more than a moiety of his book! — The diffusion of the law of entail over 
Spain and her distant provinces brings us back to Jovellanos, who al- 
ways deserves to be heard. — 

"It is surprising to observe how justice in Spain has been overturned 
by the very laws intended for its support. Our lawyers, exclusively 
devoted to the study of Roman jurisprudence, have introduced at the 
bar a mass of discordant opinions which wage a perpetual conflict with 
the wisdom of the courts. — The cortes of Toro with the design of defi- 
ning accurately legal verity, sanctioned opinions the most fatal in their 
effects." 

"The law of the Fuero, in granting the liberty of an unequal divi- 
sion of his goods, had no other aim than that a virtuous father should 
be able to recompense a dutiful son. — The law of Toro by allowing 
perpetual entail to property unequally divided, has taken away from 
parents the power of recompense, prevents virtuous children froiw re- 
ceiving their merited rewards, and deprives virtue of all that which it 
gauraatees to family vanity for generations to come." (Laborde vol. iv.) 

The profound Jovellanos,— & philosopher and statesman as well as a 
lawyer, is extremely severe on his own profession.— His investigations, 
with those of Campomanes, on the injustice and impolicy of tolerating 
the vast mass of ecclesiastical property, only drew down reproaches 
and persecution on the authors. Campomanes happening to lose his 
eyesight, the clergy affirmed that heaven had punished with that judg- 
ment his impious arguments against the chartered "vested rights" of 
the church. — Jovellanos incurring xhe displeasure of the king's favour- 
ite, the Prince of Peace, was immured in a convent, and denied the 
use of pen, ink, and books,— catechism and breviary excepted! — So 
detestable are truth, reason, and independence in the eyes of tyrauts. 
-^-(It is not likely that our Secretary will be persecuted for any of 
these defects. J 

A description of "five kinds or classes of inayorazgo," is given by 
Laborde, volume v. chapter v. 

It is not necessary to remind you, my venerable friend, that the 
principle of entails was applied in England by the Statute of West- 
minster 2, in 1285, about a century before it was introduced into Spain 
— where it was not confirmed until Ferdinand after the death of Isa- 
bella, convened the Cortes at the city of Toro. 

Laborde could have likewise convinced our '-Secretary" that eccle- 
siastical jurisdict ion, and the right of presentation to vacant benefices, 
were neither simultaneous, nor the same! — But where errors swarm 
thicker than locusts, who can bring down the whole at a single shot? 
So many are winged and fluttering, that any one may catch them with- 
out running a breathless race! 

To put his political opinions out of doubt, the "Secretary" inculcates 
the notion, (page 282, vol.11, et passim) that a people may be formed for 
freedom under an aristocratic government. Yet, the uniform testimony 
of history teaches us that civil institutions deteriorate instead of bein°- 
perfected — unless the utmost care be exercised in laying their founda- 
tions and regulating their forms. He forgets that governments have 



39 

incalculable influence on the minds, manners, and principles of the ci- 
tizens.— The following extracts scarce need a comment: — 

"I should be sorry to see a Napoleon rise up among them; but if 
there should be one, still would 1 wish him success in the great cause 
of emancipation from Spain." — ib 234. 

Yes' yes! if the Brazilians ought to be content with a king, why not 
the Spanish Americans also? Emancipation from the tyrant is not 
enough, without emancipation from the tyranny. 

"Religion will be unavoidably blended with the government, as the 
successor to the king is also the head of the church." 

There is a more powerful reason: the clergy are left in possession of 
their property and privileges, — exempt from civil jurisdiction; and for 
their services in debasing the people, they are admitted into partner- 
ship with the military upstarts who have seized the government. The 
poor people are held in the triple leash of superstition, the sword, and 
commercial monopoly. — Our Secretary frankly avows the maxims of 
administration by which this system is to be perpetuated. 

"The leading men can figure but a short time on the stage, unless 
they contrive to close up all the avenues of improvement by a com- 
plete restoration of the inquisitorial system of Spain." (285.) 

It is in complete operation: a universal system of espionage places 
the whole population in a state of surveillance, as to the usurpers. — 
Will any rational man deny the fact? 

"As far as the destinies of the nation can at the present time depend 
on particular men, they apparently rest on three individuals, Puerrey- 
don, Belgrano, and San Martin, who have a perfect understanding 
with each other, and are supported by the leading men of the country." 

This is a rare sentence in such a "Voyage;" for, it is true. They 
erect a secret society or political cabal in Buenos-Ayres, another in 
Santiago; whose members having an interest separate from the people, 
are linked together as a faction. Clubs of this kind have a factious 
tendency every where, and have the same eftectasan order of nobility. 
Over this occult machinery is reared a politico-military order — a legion 
of honor, with salaries and privileges annexed. Chili being really a 
province of Buenos-Ayres, is governed accordingly. 

"To condemn (San Martin) for supposed intentions, would not be 
just: as long as a man's actions are great and honorable, it is ungener- 
ous to supply improper motives." 

Intentions! was he ever so much as censured for intentions? Did not 
the "Secretary," callous as he is, regard the murder of two illustrious 
republicans, by order of San Martin, as a "melancholy event?" And 
he, after such an admission, talks of intentions! — though 

All great Neptune's ocean cannot wash this blood 
Clean from his hand. 

Yet, our "Secretary" seems to argue as coldly on the butchery, as an 
instigator could: "Things without remedy, should be without regard — 
What's done, is done." -This baseness is unspeakably reprehensi- 
ble in an American citizen. San Martin endeavors to buoy himself 



40 

up in his arbitrary career by the example of England; of that England 
who expended millions in bribes, distributed by her agents in Switzer- 
land, Sfc. to excite the fury of factions, and spread horror among the 
revolutionists in France; of that same England who now smiles benig- 
nantly on the sanguinary conduct which disgraces and nullifies there- 
volution in Buenos-Ayres and Chili.* — How culpable then is the wri- 
ter who labors to misdirect public opinion in the United States? who 
yields approbation to deeds that merit eternal execration? who tries to 
present to honest Fame, the subjects, the favorites of Infamy? 

If the note to page 58, vol. IT. be authentic and intelligible, the "Sec- 
retary" confesses, that he acted as a spy over the republican general Car- 
rera, by means of a royalist, — as he appears to have done at Montevideo 
on another occasion. 

Page 272. "Mr. Adams's Defence of the American Constitutions, 
which at this time was very much read and studied, gave them ideas 
of checks, and balances in government " &c. 

Neither check nor balance has yet been discovered capable of con- 
trolling the absorption of all influence by the executive branches of 
government, whether elective or hereditary. A deliberative bodv may 
balance a deliberative body, but no other- An executive power must 
be poised by another, or limited in duration, or its patronage abridged 
by distribution in various channels, — else the head becomes the su- 
preme director of the members. Experience indicates no other alter- 
natives—Our Secretary appears to have admitted this opinion, and pre- 
fers the result! page 267. 

"But, I have already noticed the peculiar tendency in this union to- 
wards anarchy in the members, much more to be dreaded, than to abso- 
lute power in the head." Again: "To preserve the balance, was an 
extremely difficult task; the habits of the people inclined them to look 
up to the executive for every thing; and this branch was therefore 
found by degrees to have engrossed all authority." 

Experiments made in all countries testify invariably to the same 
principle. — This acknowledgement of our "Secretary" not only refutes 
his aspersions on the South American republicans, who sought to re- 
strain excessive power; but leaves himself inexcusablcfor attacking 
them as visionaries, who had faith in paper-constitutions} while he had 
none, or very little. True it is, that constitutions of civil government 
are so often overturned by construction, that we are in danger of los- 
ing a portion of our veneration for them.— We should guard them, 
however, against the arts and the order that are forever sapping them. 
We put the laws under the mgis of a corps interested in litigation.— 
We suffer them to be couched in ambiguity, or overlaid by a technical 
phraseology, having reference to the common law. Nay, more: We 
select our legislators from decipherers and interpreters; or we send 
illiterate delegates, who must be led by others. Confusion is the conse« 

* To a consular and political agent at , the British government gives 

a salary of 12,000 dollars, with other privileges— a good stipend for "fanning the 
embers" of faction! 



41 

quence. We sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. Every law ought 
to be expressed in the common language,-- simple and intelligible- 
Historians have wondered at the conciseness of treaties and public do- 
cuments among the Swiss, who would comprise an ordinance in a few 
sentences. The secret is, that they used no superfluous words, and 
intended no evasion. — Their meaning was conveyed directly, perspi- 
cuously, briefly. A law with them, as with Gulliver's great people, 
was not the parent of a hundred law suits and subterfuges. — It is cu- 
rious enough, saysNaylor, "to compare the concise and simple style 
employed by the Helvetic states in regulating the conditions of their 
federative government with the verbose and complex forms of modern 
diplomacy." Can we not dispense with their translations, and ex- 
press laws intelligibly ? They answer, NO. 

The people have in reality lost their power, — the sceptre has de- 
parted from their hands, by relinquishing the authorship and enact- 
ment of the laws, to an order who profit by "universal doubt." — (Many 
•executive offices, I grant, under this system, require to be filled by 
lawyers.) 

This accounts for the progeny of unconstitutional and anti-republi- 
can ordinances spawned under "construction," — without express au- 
thority. We professed strict equality of rights, and immediately in- 
vaded our constitution to confer privileges ! 

We stipulated most solemnly to have a sacred respect for property; 
and we quickly invested a club of persons with the privilege of dis- 
turbing all the property^ real and personal, in the nation. — The emis- 
sion of paper-money, universally affecting prices, operates this effect. 

Orders and parties thus created appear to be inextinguishable. — 
Wherefore? Can the people not correct abuses, repeal the objectionable 
laws, and resume, their lost power? — The high priests and the petti- 
foggers of the law answer, NO. 

What! Is iniquity irrevocable? is error unalterable? is assumption 
irreversible? 

The lawyers, the greatest of them too, reply that — IT IS. They 
tell us, that the question is not even liable to be discussed ; that if con- 
gress once stumble, the faux-pas is irreparable : if judges usurped or 
erred for once, they are bound to abide by it forever. 

But the interpreters cannot be serious in urging such tenets ? 

They say they are. 

Human nature being fallible, it was our boast that we had introduced 
a 'system of moral liberty and legislative reason, under which error 
could not be incorrigible; that the detects ot yesterday would be amend- 
ed to-day, and improvement be progressive with knowledge.— But, our 
luminaries of the 'law teach otherwise: the gentlemen blind us by their 
light. They maintain dogmas of infallibility more transcendant than 
the popes pretended to: for, in cases of the Supreme Pontiff, people 
could appeal to general councils from an arbitrary or unscriptural bull, 
but from the bulls of a Supreme Court there lies no appeal. It is the 
last resort. Opinions fluctuate; but we must regard all their dicta as 
infallible. We must not examine the doctrine, but submit to the de* 
cision! 



43 

And have the people lost all sensibility and bid adieu to their ra- 
tional faculties? It seems so for the present. Perchance they are only 
asleep, not dead. — 

The consequences of these backslidings must be a practical govern- 
ment widely different from that on paper, — and as originally intended. 
—Orders are introduced: We have as your favorite author says, four 
parties, the republican, monarchical, stock, and patronage. — (All are 
divisible into two classes — friends and enemies of equal rights.) — The 
confederacy of aristocratical interest threatens to overwhelm the pub- 
lic interest. Election will degenerate apace into prescribed formality, 
or a forestalled opinion. — The press will be silenced, or speak like a 
parrot the lessons it is taught.— A small minority instead of a majority 
can rule the many-headed multitude. — We have tacitly surrendered 
the citadel where we had deposited the palladium of liberty. It was 
not necessary to rifle it. We threw it open. 

The worst calamity of all is the conduits prepared for the convey- 
ance of executive influence through the instrumentality of these orders: 
whenever (if ever) we happen to have an aspiring president. The most 
subtile element in nature, the electric fluid, cannot pass without a me- 
dium. It is inoperative and powerless in vacuo. — To keep tyranny at 
a distance the instruments of it ought to be broken betimes. 

From all which I conclude in partially excusing the "Secretary" for 
his contempt of "paper constitution men;" but, to preserve the paper 
constitution, I would draw their fangs, or bridle the sophisters that 
destroy it, or explain it away. — We cannot possibly retain our respect 
for an instrument which is stretched to-day and will be shrivelled to- 
morrow, according to the interests or caprice of a ruling party.— It is 
now extended to embrace incorporations, i. e. to admit the wooden 
horse: It is again contracted to prevent the exit of slavery. — Let such 
instruments therefore be written in comprehensible language; but pre- 
sume not to supply an omission by construction. Amendments are 
easilv procured, when obviously requisite; but, when glosses come in, 
law walks out. The toleration of a single departure from the plain 
literal import of a constitutional provision destroys the conditions and 
relations of the whole. One breach in a fortress is quite sufficient to 
let in the enemy. — To allow of forced constructions "is to give way to 
the torrent of opinions." 

" When our South-American friends begin to fortify their civil rights, 
they must take care to exclude the termites who would prey upon the 
leaves of their charter, and scatter the fragments to the winds,— unmean- 
ing as the ravings of the Sybil.— Notwithstanding the worth and talent 
perverted in the profession,* sustained in popularity by the pleasing 



*I am not so illiberal as to insinuate that our ''Secretary" is a fair specimen of 
the corps, — though his book reminds one of the quarter where advocates of abu- 
ses may be indefinitely recruited. The profession opens the sublime study of mor- 
al science, — but its practical tendency is indisputably pernicious. — As a particu- 
lar class are attached by the disorders of society, they are tempted to create social 
diseases. InW single county, the most opulent of this state at the last term of 
the court, t-welve hundred new lawsuits were instituted for the recovery of debts, 



43 

arts of declamation;--notwithstanding the eloquence that occasionally 
adorns it, the people are reduced to the alternative of abolishing law- 
yer-prerogative or of being politically demolished by it. — 

The American revolution was undeniably the triumph of iasulted 
reason over insulting authority. As we forget the maxims of that glo- 
rious sera, the latter recovers the reins. Our experience confirms a 
shrewd remark of De Pradt, that a state may be assailed by the parent 
country with most success, sometime after its independence is establish- 
ed As true principles disappear before constructive analogies, we re- 
lapse into old practices, inconsistent with the new government. But 
I have wandered too far from the text! 

We must enter into a more serious reckoning with him by and by 
than his deficiency as a linguist: he is even more unfaithful than in- 
competent. His observations on men are as notable as on bulls and 
circuses. 

Of Mr. Tagle, the Secretary of State, he observes: — "His private 
character is not free from imputation, with what justice, I shall not 
take upon me to say." 

Was this fraction of truth forced from him by Tagle's saying that 
our Secretary could not converse in Spanish, while his flagitious crimes 
are unnoticed, I suppose, because he (Tagle) is one of the "men in 
power?" Did he not learn Tagle's celebrity in guilty intrigue? — taking 
bribes with avidity, — and then pronouncing his opinion that republi- 
canism was ridiculous, because he regarded all others to be base and 
corrupt as himself? — The facts proved against him in the remonstrance 
(now before me) of D. Benito Vidal to the congress, and disregarded 
by that independent body, are not surpassed in the annals of iniquity. 

He attended obsequiously, no doubt, to Mr. Alvarez, who is one of 
the chiefs of the government — Formerly guilty of insubordination, he 
was elevated for a season, by one revolt, and sent out of office in ano- 
ther, loaded with accusations, for which he has never been brought to 
account — notwithstanding the faroical enquiry of residencia, of which 
our author must surely speak in jest. "He appeared extremely de- 
sirous of cultivating our acquaintance," page 8: and his information 
must have been acceptable, as he is "marrried to a neice of general 
Belgramo," the monarchist, and one of "the three great men of the 
country." 

The Secretary represents Mr. Funes as a timid, querulous old man, 
who harbors some ho>ror at the scenes of t\\z revolution, (though an 
accomplice in one of the worst,) moody at the hard fate of Cordova, 
his native city. "He is inclined towards the federative system." Dr. 
Funes (I am informed) spoke of the monopoly of Buenos-Ayres, — of 
the spoliation committed on the lights and library of Cordova; and evi- 
dently felt some grief at the subjection of his province to the poten- 



and only twenty -one had been determmeo! — Most of these had grown, I suppose, 
out of bank debts, loans, and derangements of the currency. — How vast must have 
been the distress throughout our country, from incorporations, &c! Privileged 
corps united by a kindred spirit, become allies in oppression. 



44 

tates of Buenos-Ayres. We devoutly wish the rest of his conduct had 
been honorable as this! He decided it otherwise! 

Old Mr. Escalada has the peculiar merit of being the father-in-law 
of general San Martin, "unquestionably the great man of the country." 
He became conspicuous soon after the revolution, bv menacing the new 
republic with a counter-revolution, unless the government should de- 
sist from punishing Concha, (the Spanish governor and intendant) 
taken in arms against it. He was ordered to r oche, 12 leagues from 
the city, for his misconduct. This is the true whig, in our Secreta- 
ry's view. — We presume to speak only of gentlemen's political beha- 
viour and principles. Their choice company may denote gentility; 
their Falernian wine may evince hospitality; but it is immaterial to 
this "residencia" whether the gay visitors danced minuet?, contradan- 
zas or fandangos. Page 10, vol. II. 

Mr. Frias and Villegas, though said to be devoid of abilities, or 
great acquirements, are praised to the highest note, being "men in 
power." 

Mr. Iregoyen, secretary of war, he describes as a showy man, and 
extremely ambitious, — "tormented by envy at the success of others," 
and discontented, "that he is not placed above every one." Ambition 
is no crime: if it be culpable in him, what is it in Puerreydon, or San 
Martin and Belgrano, who sought for monarchy?* We must infer that 
Mr. Iregoyen spoke unfavorably of the conduct of government, and 
consequently forfeited the praise of its flatterer. 

Page 14, vol. II. "I have frequently heard San Martin and his wife 
cited as an example of a happy marriage, which is by no means nega- 
tive praise in a country where morals are unfortunately depraved, and 
where the marriage state is held in too little respect." 

To me, my friend, it appears as impertinent as mean to debase a 
whole people for the sake of paying more oily adulation to a man al- 
ready corrupted by it. San Martin's deportment as a husband, does 
not concern us — If he exterminated the bravest of brave patriots in 
Chili, in order to oppress their country, quash republican sentiments, 
and entrench himself in usurped power, the garlands woven for his 
brow by the "Secretary of the Mission," must fade to bloom no more. 
I shall rigorously enquire into the proofs of those "unhappy deeds" 
in the sequel. Perhaps I may have pursued the Secretary's track to 
an improper extent in some cases. — He had no business to enter the 
sanctuary of private life, to extol "San Martin and his wife" as a rare 
exception from the practice of the community. An American reader 
will be apt to reprimand him with the blunt rebuke of Sancho Panza: 
"miracle or no miracle," said Sancho, '"let every man take care how 
he speaks or writes of honest people, and not set down at a venture 
the first thing that comes into his jolter head." 



* Mr, De Forrest, (we ask pardon for the reference) will not dispute this point: 
though a republican himself, he believes the majority of men of property in Buenos- 
Ayres are in favor of royalty, and that it would suit them better than republicanism. 
They are not tingxilar.' 



45 

Such are the features of the Secretary's observations on men and 
measures. — He rejects the testimony of the Americans, English, 
French, even of the Secretary at war, unanimous and impartial, and 
forms his opinion from that of four or five placemen, who are interest- 
ed. — But, he is a quondam "judge," you know — and it is the doctrine 
of the present day in this lawyer-ridden nation, that judges and law- 
yers are infallible as Popes. The pretensions are about equal. We 
need political Luthers to reform the infallibles. 

It has been pointedly remarked by gentlemen familiarly acquainted 
with Buenos-Ayres, that the place where our Secretary planted hi3 
observatory, is singular as his doctrine. Twelve dollars a month for 
a lodging! when, for the credit of his country and station, he ought to 
ha\e expended above a hundred. Oh fye!— However, if it was not 
splendid, it was a clean, comfortable paradise, "a beautiful aromatic 
shrub on one side of the door, and a jessamine on the other," (page 6, 
vol. II.) and Dona Marcella within, like Prosorpine, — "herself a fairer 
flower."— A1J was physically neat and orderly, and the lady and her 
daughters had an extensive acquaintance. "I found my situation so 

comfortable, says B , (page 6, vol. II.) that I was unwilling to 

change it even after the commissioners had been fixed in their new es- 
tablishment." — I say nothing of his residence in such a temple; sup- 
posing it to have arisen from accident and misinformation. — It was not 
a place adapted to political enquiry: and it was extremely unfortunate 
tor another reason: It separated this false, indiscreet mortal from the 
guardianship of the commissioners, gave astute men occasion for over- 
reaching him through his vanity, and subjected him to intemperate de- 
portment, in which he dishonored the Mission by his foolish loquaci- 
ty, malignity and misconduct. His "insinuations" perhaps, endanger- 
ed the life of one of them, and degraded the dignity of ail. An Ame- 
rican gentleman was so wounded at the infamous proceeding, that he 
mentioned the circumstance by letter to a late American agent then in 
Chili, and now in Baltimore. — I extract the following: — 

" Buenos-Ayres, 1st of May, 1818. 
"Strange reports are in circulation respecting the object of his (Mr. 
*****'s) journey. All have arisen from the indecorous and highly 
scandalous conversation of the Secretary Braclcenridge, who spoke of 
the Commissioners as of the most indifferent persons in this place — 
and really rendered his utmost services to make them contemptible 
in the opinion of all their fellow citizens. You know my unbiassed pat- 
riotism. I felt hurt beyond expression, Government should be very 
cautious in such appointments.— I have reason to fear his insinuations 
have travelled on with Mr. *****, and if made public, ivill place him 
in an aukward predicament.'' 1 ' 

On perfidy like the Secretary's, remark is useless. The dictates of 
duty could not bind him to prudence against the native malignancy ot 
his disposition. — Decency and honor were to him unmeaning sounds:' 



46 

he embarrasses a public officer in an important duty,- --he depreciates 
them all in the very scene of their action; and actually occasioned a 
cold repulsive treatment in a certain quarter, which stung the feelings 
of the Commissioners, and thwarted their purposes in a great degree. 
The treacherous cause, not revealed until this letter imparted it to a 
friend, after their departure—this, I say, partially explains the ru- 
moured want of cordiality in their reception or intercourse at Buenos- 
Ayres.-— See! how he repaid the kindness — the charity of the commis- 
sioners who generously retained him as Secretary, instead of dismissing 
him, after they were obliged to call in others to perform an essential 
part of the duty to which he was incompetent! — Perfidiousness so fla- 
grant, so unpardonable, cannot but excite extreme disgust.— A detect- 
ed impostor will not readily find any refuge but — Coventry. If I make 
any reference again to him, it is only as a necessary instrument for 
elucidating a highly interesting subject. 

As he catechized a young American, (p. 35.) who was unfriendly to 
men in power,* so we interrogate him, and answer for him on authori- 
ty of his book : 

How long was he at Buenos-Ayres ? Only six weeks. 
Was he much among different classes of peopled Only among per- 
sons in power : 
Could he speak the language ? No. 
Had he ever been out of the United States before ? No. 
That no species of disingenuousness might be unattempted, our Sec- 
retary devotes nearly two pages in his epitome of stromaticks, alias 
hotch-potch, £37, 38, vol, II.) to mangle a most excellent letter, writ- 
ten I believe, by the most distinguished ot the commissioners, to a pri- 
vate friend in this city. It is characterised by the same impartiality 
and independence that haVe uniformly marked that gentleman's 
thoughts and actions. After garbling it the secretary says, ei Ihave 
inserted it in the appendix." And yet he has omitted it, lest the whole 
tenor of the letter should attract admiration and detect his fallacy. 
It is the same production we read together heretofore, in JViles's Re- 
gister, vol. xiv. p. 288,-9. 

Before he went to Buenos-Ayres, the Secretary had expressed a de- 
corous opinion that " it was equally wrong in us to pretend to take 
sides in the political disputes which must occur in La Plata, as well as 
in other republics." p. 351, vol. II. 

We have no right, we claim none, to intermeddle in their internal 
affairs; but it would be both humane and politic to interpose our friend- 
ly mediation between conflicting provinces, if not parties. Buenos- 
Ayres has been uninvaded since the revolution; — she grew haughty in 
her security, and turned invader herself: she sought to humble equal 



" He came to me, and in a kind of half whisper, as if afraid of being- over- 
beard, and a mysterious face, related to me all those horrors which I have already 
noticed, and many more " And all this civility seems to have been treated with 
scorn.— He distrusted persons unconnected with place or power, but confides in 
the exculpatory stories of the officers of government. 



47 

states, and reduced Cordova and others to her domination. What 
conspired to fan this ambitious spirit, I shall treat of hereafter. It 
kindled a conflagration that rages to this hour. With the exit of 
Fuerreydon from the directorship, a milder administration is believed 
to have succeeded — Robespierrean executions and judicial murders 
have abated or ceased — and possibly the sanguinary system is entirely 
exploded. In Chili and Mendoza the priests of Moloch are perhaps 
satiated with blood. The pause offers an occasion to interfere with ef- 
fect. I entreat you to revolve this opinion in your clearer mind, and 
give me yours. Sentiments published in the Censor of Buenos- Ayres 
some time ago, (though rather sui generis) give plausibility to the 
scheme. The editor observes in substance ; we vibrate between one sys- 
tem of government and another, now looking to Europe,now to the Uni- 
ted States, uncertain which of them will recognise us.* In truth, he 
intimates that fluctuating between both, they were ready to grapple 
themselves to the political principles of either ! so heavily weighed 
foreign opinion in their judgment ! Here is an unusual deference to 
the views of others. Its weakness strengthens the argument for my 
position. Let us seize the occasion. How glorious, how God-like to 
reconcile foes ! assuage acerbity, banish feuds, emancipate opinion, 
fortify freedom, and bury the dagger ! This friendly, affectionate, 
Christian part would I play. In this attitude of dignified benevolence, 
we should petrify the disturbers with awe : patriots would hail us as sa- 
viours : we should gain the sincerest benedictions. — Thus should we 
disarm virulence by a moral weapon, " compel without force" and de- 
pose usurpers by opinion. I mean, such would be the consequence of 
our amicable mediation. This measure seems worthy of the nation, 
to which Bolivar, Carrera, all Spanish-America, looked up, as to the 
political head of the continent. This would be widely different from 
cringing to vice (as our Secretary does) because it happens to be in- 
vested with power. Let us exhibit more contradictions for variety's 
sake. 

P. 102, 3, vol. II. he reverberates the eulogium of Be Pradt, on the 
city of Buenos-Ayres, that neither Tyre nor Carthage; the city of Al- 
exander or Constantine, had higher destinies . " There is no other 
town in South-America, whose position is in any way to be compared 
with it." — If she possesses these advantages in herself, why prey upon 
her neighbors ? — Why impose her governors and prsetors, and interdict 
their commerce ? However, if he does not answer these questions he 
settles the accouut. Hear per contra : — -His intention and his evi- 
dence rarely agree : 

" Unless the war terminates successfully in this quarter, (Upper 
Peru &c.) Buenos-Ayres, from being a great emporium must dwindle 
away" &c. p. 183. — " With Paraguay and the provinces of Peru an 

* This indecision may be one reason why Buenos-Ayres, though sure of in- 
dependence, has not reared a single institution in support of civil liberty, except 
those introduced by Dr. Mariano Moreno, in the time of the first Junta, or by Don 
M. Serratea soon after. Indeed the best of them has been evaded or arbitrarily 
overleaped, as we shall see hereafter 



48 

intercourse and trade can scarcely be said to exist" p. 103. — One day 
or other, the whole of this table land, capable of supporting twice the 
population of France, will be attracted to the shores of the Pacific, 
through its means,'" viz. a communication from lake Titicaca, to that 
ocean, (seep. 137,) Consult also Bland's report on Chili, p. 117. Unless 
military or other despotism prevent, the commerce of Potosi and the 
adjacent provinces will naturally be attracted to the nearer ports on 
the Pacific. Why then this vapouring about Buenos-Jlyres as an em- 
porium, when the foundation is denied next moment? Nature not 
designating her for a great mart, intrigue cannot retain the exclusion 
it seizes. From many letters written in Buenos- Ayre3, I select the 
following extract of a letter, its author one of the most respectable 
gentleman there. 

" Buenos-Jlyres, 3d June, 1819. 
" The celebration of an armistice with general Artigas's agents, of 
the people of Santa-Fe, induced a belief that a friendly and lasting ar- 
rangement was almost certain : I fear not. although this government has 
ceded many pretensions. Without a peace with Artigas, this place 
ivlll absolutely become a nullity, as respects the interior trade. The 
leading points insisted on by Artigas were the independence of the 
Banda Oriental, the establishing of Santa Fe as a free port of trade for 
the interior. This admission will cut a very large slice from the trade 
of this place, as Santa-Fe is a very central spot, a poor miserable town 
now, but as a free port would flourish beyond all calculation ; for it 
can easily supply Chili, Mendoza and Peru with all the yerba requir- 
ed (which is immense) and at a much lower rate than this place — the 
distance over land being considerably less, and carts of every kind are 
to be had inabundance — There is plenty of materials for making them." 

This simple relation speaks a volume. A practical merchant does not 
aay that '• it is too high up the river for sea vessels." 92, vol II. Do- 
cuments like it, from merchants ou the spot cannot be rebutted by flip- 
pancy. Our " Secretary" abuses the cities and provinces for refu- 
sing to be crushed, and the people he paints in English colors and his 
own, (p. 110, vol. II. &c. &c.) as barbarous, vicious and ignorant, to 
justify despotic cabal in Buenos- Ayres. He is right when he remarks 
that" something has been said with respect to the town of Santa-Fe," 
lor the attempt to conquer it by the " military republic" (as he fa- 
cetiously calls Buenos-Ayres) has cost rivers of blood. And this un- 
principled scribbling " Secretary" dares to insult the brave men who 
resist chains ! to stigmatize as refractory barbarians the champions of 
equal rights ! to asperse with opprobrium the intelligent citizens and 
independent soldiers who distinguish things from names — who scorn 
the absurd idea of setting up fallible judges to dole out infallible 
opinions. 

I fear that I am growing tedious — 1 have trespassed on your pa- 
tience. Nevertheless I must crave your attention for a moment long- 
er to a concise commentary on a subject very industriously misrepre- 
sented, and strangely misunderstood— I mean general Jlrtigas's warfare 
with Portugal, his privateers, cfc. 



49 

Our hopeful Secretary, who calculates his work for three meridians, 
— for Washington, — for Rio Janeiro, and Buenos-Ayres, is sometimes 
distracted by attempting to keep watch on each. The hundred-eyed 
Argus, you know, used always to keep a pair of eyes open whilst nine- 
ty eight slept; sentinels relieved sentinels, and his guard-house was 
never shut — till Mercury's time. But, a man who has only a couple 
is obliged to close both at times, and snore or nod unguarded; eUe by 
extreme watchfulness he becomes squint-eyed, or purblind. Hence 
much incongruity, from the obliquity of vision. He shamefully mis- 
takes a cautious policy at Washington for an illiberal one, and writes 
accordingly. Your learned and justly celebrated friend the Abbe, he 
knows to be a favorite there: and, as this diplomatist is in duty bound 
fas such,) to vindicate that wicked policy, which as a moralist he must 
abhor, Brack, mistakes the official character for the natural one. He 
consequently misreckons with a vengeance: with tooth and nail he de- 
fends the unjustifiable aggression of the king of Brazil. By volunteer- 
ing in this unjust cause the pettifogger secures a king for a client, and 
bears down upon the republican Artigas without mercy; annihilates his 
ports, clips his territory (on paper,) scalps his character, tomahawks 
his gauchos, d s his lubberly, piratical sailors, and mauls his con- 
fessor and secretary. The "last not least" of his tripartite cares is to 
bepraise the "men in power" at La Plata, and to malign their enemies 
Hercules himself would have resigned his club, doffed his lion's skin, 
and taken up the distaff, (jennies were not then in vogue.) rather than 
lay his shoulder to such labour. 

Though our Secretary treats of a law-subject, in glancing at the 
rights (jf war, he stumbles at every step. — If he hirnples along so lame- 
ly on his chosen ground, how must he figure on a different field? Let 
us cite him in various parts verbatim. 

"1 have uniformly condemned the whole scheme of privateering in 
the name of the patriot governments, especially of those that have nei- 
ther ships, seamen, nor even ports of their own." preface, page s. 

"The town of Maldonado. at the distance of two or three miles from 
the beach, had been abandoned by the Portuguese; and English or Am- 
erican vessels were permitted to carry on a trade with the inhabitants. 
The whole coast was in fact, under the controul of the Portuguese, and 
was maintained by not less than eight or ten vessels of war. The Banda 
Oriental does not even own a single ton of shipping: and I question 
much whether Artigas has half a dozen seamen in the whole extent of 
his government. Since my return to this country, I saw in the news- 
papers the names of several ports under his jurisdiction; but I heard 
nothing of them whilst I was there. — Some trade up the Uruguay is 
carried on in small sloops, by individuals from Buenos-Ayres under 
a kind of special license and favor from Artigas, and winked 
at by the government of that place." page 259, vol. I. 

"It is our policy to be on good terms with that government [of Bra- 
zil,] and we have every reason to believe that a disposition prevails 
to be friendly.— This was certainly the case, until the depredations 
committed on Portuguese commerce by vessels notoriously fitted out 
G 



50 

from American ports." (Letters on South American affairs, as altered 
and revised in the new edition. Ap. II. page 344. 

"She [Spain, at the time of Beresford's expedition] had a few wretch- 
ed troops at Buenos-Ayres and Montevideo; and an indifferent naval 
force, chiefly stationed at the latter of these places, which from the 
circumstance of being nearer the ocean, and having a better 
harbour, was the naval depot." page 219, vol. I. 

"It is chiefly by the commerce with Paraguay that the sailors of the 
river are formed, as it was there also that the only vessels used in its 
navigation were constructed." vol. I. page 275, (already cited.) 

"Experience, he (Funes) says, has shown that moderation would 
have been wiser than violence. It is no easy matter to say what would 
have been the best manner of managing a man of this [viz. Artigas's 
description," — "but they did not reflect that Artigas had in his hands 
the effective force of the country," — ib. page 250. 

"The men bearing arms under Artigas, probably amount to six or 
eight thousand" page 241. —His fame and superior intellect command 
their respect. — A few simple words, liberty, country, tyrants; to which 
each one attaches his own meaning, [for they have yet no pettifog- 
gers to explain away all meaning,] serve as the ostensible bond of their 
union." ib. 

"That there should have been such a leader as Artigas, is proba- 
bly the greatest misfortune that could have happened. — Such is the peo- 
ple against whom the Portuguese and the people of Buenos-Ayres are 
at war." page 229. 

"The simple fact is, that if his name had not been used to give sanc- 
tion to privateers, we should have heard little in his praise," p. 230. 

— "Three hundred men under a chief named Otorguez, appearing and 
disappearing like the wolves of the plain, accomplish their purpose (of 
blockading Montevideo) as effectually as if their numbers had amount- 
ed to five thousand." 

"No kind of force can be better adapted to defend this country against 
the present invaders, though otherwise of no great importance, as it 
cami *t be subjected to regular discipline, or be kept any length of time 
embodied." 

"A gaucho, with a piece of roasted beef, (which is almost the only 
food) tied to his saddle skirt, is amply provided for several days." — 
I cannot see how it is possible for the Portuguese to make any farther 
progress in the conquest of this country," — the mildness of the cli- 
mate is such, that the natives can live in the open air the whole year 
round, and the immense herds which roam through the coantry furnish 
them with ample means of subsistence; at the same time that the par- 
ties which commonly hover round the march of their enemies, deprive 
them of this resource." — p. 223, 4. 

" The roving bands, or montaneros, sent over by Artigas, do not 
merely distress Buenos-Ayres, but all the other provinces by cutting oft" 
their connexion with their emporium. — p. 23, vol. II. 

"This province [Rio Grande in Brazil] formerly exported and sup- 
plied the others on the sea-coast with flour and wheat; but for the last 



51 

two years there had been no exports of consequence, raising scarcely 
sufficient for the supply of the troops which have been thrown into the 
southern part of Brazil, for the purpose of keeping up the war with 
Artigas." vol. I. p. 173. Finally, 

" It is not more than a year or eighteen months ago, since we knew 
any thing about Jlrtigas in this country." vol. II. p. 22. 

I fear, my friend, that the Secretary has ensnared himself in a des- 
perate cause : if this great lawyer has not received a fee, his plight is 
bad; and if he has, it is worse : the inextricable lazo is around him : let 
him disentangle it if he can. 

That he knew nothing until lately of general Jlrtigas the president 
of the Oriental republic, may be true; yet the fame of his valour is 
coeval with the revolution of La Plata, he signalized himself by en- 
terprize from the beginning — The first report of him came wafted with 
the sound of victory — the last tidings announced victory — over supe- 
rior forces too. Inflexible and wary, he adheres to his simple purpuse, 
the liberation of his country; and cautiously evades the snares by which 
he was once nearly circumvented. Anxious to confederate with Bue- 
nosrAyres, he has made successive overtures for anunion on just repre- 
sentative principles, but spurns subjection to Buenos-Ayres: no allure- 
ments can inveigle him from his design. He never wavers. When 
the biography of this popular chief shall be impartially written, he will 
appear to mankind, an extraordinary personage. History will associ- 
ate his name, and compare his deeds, (but not I trust, his fortune!) with 
those of Viriatus, the intrepid champion, who bravely resisted the Ro- 
mans, until treacherously murdered at the instigation of their consul; 
with the fame of Sertorius, a warrior and sage, whose grand designs 
for the liberty, greatness, and civilization of his hapless country, were 
blasted also by the stroke of an assassin:* Yes, sir, Artigas must ap- 
pear on the same roll with Sertorius and Pelagius, contending against 
the united foes of liberty and independence. — The unequal strife he 
maintains against Spain, — against Brazil, — against Buenos-Ayres, (a 
"triple alliance" as to him!) elevates him before the world. Neither 
the theatre nor the drama, is unknown; and much of the plot is devel- 
oped in the progress of the action. Here, however, in limine, I ask 
neither for your opinion nor viva! Admiration itself, might dazzle the 
judgment. Let us recollect the Secretary's testimony, before we ad- 
duce more. 

The sanguinary war with "wild gauchos" or wilder democi-ats of the 
Oriental Banda has desolated the important Brazilian province of Rio 
Grande. Between Artigas's incursions, and the troops of His Most 
Faithful Majesty, its prosperity is no more. 

The Montaneros who pass both the Uruguay and Paraguay, not mere- 



st is an admirable example of the fidelity of these unsophisticated people, that 
neither public rewards for his head, nor private bribes offered by his enemies, 
could corrupt a single adherent to murder their leader. — 6000 dollars had no ef- 
fect — 70 ounces of gold and an elegant pair of pistols had no influence except to 
augment the odium against Buenos-Ayres. None could be hired or seduced to 
perpetrate so black a deed. 



52 

ly distress Buenos- Ayrcs (on the right bank of La Plata) but all the 
other provinces: 

In that delicious climate, those martial herdsmen, or natural cavalry, 
can neither be beaten, nor starved: they are inexpugnable; three hun- 
dred of them can blockade a garrisoned town as effectually as jive thou- 
sand. 

Those Centaurs are united to a man, and almost adore their general: 
their rallying words are, "liberty, country, tyrants:" [I need not 
remind you, that this admission of their union undermines the defence 
set up elsewhere for the Brazilian invaders, — viz. that they only wished 
to repel the anarchy which raged in the Oriental Banda, threatening 
to spread to their frontiers, — and Centre nous) infect their vassals.] 

Artigas wields the effective force of the country; and it is the most 
puzzling perplexity in the world, how to "manage a man of his des- 
cription." — 

Sailors are formed in the navigation of the river Paraguay, which is 
interrupted by the people of Entre Rios whenever Artigas pleases; and 
that of the Uruguay he controuls entirely, permitting his enemies to 
spread their sails in it, under iicerise. — (mem. "a kind of license!") 

English and Americans trade with the Orientals at Maldonado: You 
will remember that there exists a commercial treaty for free trade be- 
tween general Artigas and the British. — As he fosters commerce in 
every di<ection, suffering his declared enemies to carry it on within 
his territorial jurisdiction, we may conclude that he has an expanded 
mind, which embraces the policy of promoting the best social institu- 
tions, as soon as he triumphs over the troops of the coalition. — He har- 
bors ideas of justice and equality. 

The question of the rights of war is very simple. When nations 
adopt the last resort, that is. appeal from reason to force, adjourning 
from the council-room to the field of battle, each party may lawfully 
exert aU his m*:al, intellectual, and physical energies against the other. 
On the ocean or the laud, belligerent smites belligerent. Neutrals are 
bound only to impartiality in the bloody fray.— Jw. this broil, a very stu- 
pid clamor has been set up by the advocates of the aggressors, and re- 
echoed ;ver the country, that Jlrtigas unjustly assailed by land has 
no rights on the water!!! Let us examine the pretence deliberately: — 
A famed nation of antiquity was thought tyrannical when she at- 
tempted tu appropriate a portion of the Mediterranean, (as Great Bri- 
tain the narrow seas, or channel,) to herself, and would not suffer 
the Romans to wash their hands in the sea of Sicily. This sturdy rival 
becoming dominant in turn, adopted the sordid precedent, and forbade 
Antiochus to keep above ten small barques. Our Secretary, it seems, 
would not license Artigas to wash his hands in the Atlantic, or the 
great estuary of La Plata.*— How unsanctified, how desecrated must 



*As usual, he contradicts himself when speaking of Buenos- Ayr es, whose naval 
exertions, though made by privateers, he mentions with satisfaction. Page 178, 
V lie relates ihe arrival of an English armed brig at Buenos-Ayres, "with a 

complement of one hundred and fifty English sailors, commanded by an English 
lieutenant." She belonged to the government, or was brought for sale, "A squad- 



53 

that poor sinner be, who is inhibited from dipping his finger in this 
grand basin of holy water! It is an aggravation of the torment im- 
posed on Tantalus, especially, if all the commodious havens of La 
Plata, and the finest rivers in all that delightful section of the world are 
situated in the territory of the Banda Oriental, and that of her allies. 
Of this fact, below: — 

The pretension becomes intolerable, as every people are equally en- 
titled to launch fleets on that element, and plow its surface from pole 
to pole. From this equality, M. Jlzuni remarks, that "if at the pre- 
sent day, a perfect democracy were possible, the sea alone would be- 
come the theatre of its existence." As no nation can presume a pre- 
rogative where none can acquire property, it is ridiculous to hear an 
advocate of the king of Brazil challenging the lawfulness of a cruizer 
that finds her way to the ocean under the commission of the Oriental 
republic. Let the enemy pull down her flag in honorable combat, if 
he can. — Insolent as was his tone, this was Cromwell's meaning, when 
he wrote to admiral Blake, inviting him to drive back the [Dutch] frogs 
to their native marshes, that they might not disturb him by their croak- 
ing. — Exercise the rights of war, in God's name, fairly and manfully 
against Artigas, and let us have less croaking from party-writers. — If 
you will continue your raven notes, we shall accept them as ominous 
to your cause, — as boding ruin to kingly ambition. — As our Secretary 
hails the king's advent, so I hope, Artigas will give him a warm recep- 
tion! 

The complaint against privateering ought to have been couched in 
language less ambiguous "I have uniformly condemned the whole 
scheme of privateering in the name of the patriot governments." So 
says Mr. "Secretary to the late Mission." — I have gone farther: — I 
disapprove of harrassing and plundering individuals in a public quar- 
rel, as wantonly increasing the miseries of mankind. Let public for- 
ces assail each other, and private citizens be unmolested. It is lamen- 
table that great maritime powers should have so long retarded the pro- 
gress of justice. They have baffled the efforts of the liberal to incor- 
porate in the conventional law of nations, a perpetual, universal, invi- 
olable protection for private property of every description. "Political 
Justice" and Christian equity invoke this safeguard for social inter- 
course. Place the goods of individuals under the guaranty of public 
law. Wherefore should a ship and her cargo be forfeited in the self- 
same war, by the identical belligerent who respects a landed estate and 
personal effects? The principle of property is invariable. It is an 



ron will be absolutely necessary for their joint operation against Lima. They 
have ten or twelve privateers in commission, which annoy the Spanish commerce so 
much that it has already disappeared from the ocean." 

If general Artigas thmks privateers "absolutely necessary" to his operations, 
how does he incur censure? Is not the government which contends for freedom, 
authorized to use as many engines as one that fights solely for the spoils of power? 
— Our Secretary has not then "condemned the -whole scheme of privateering" — he 
does not condemn the scheme as it respects Buenos-Ayres or Chili, but he would 
tie up Artigas's hands while the Portuguese or Buenos-Ayreans should cut off his 
head. 



oh 

absolute right: and why is it violable in one case, and inviolable in ano= 
ther? — Has a fleet more privileges than an army? In reason it has not; 
in usage it has. Squadrons enjoy prerogatives of pillaging at sea, for 
exercising the least of which an army would be decimated. — Soldiers 
who commit robbery on individuals, in an enemy's country, usually 
suffer prompt, public, exemplary punishment. Why have nations laps- 
ed into a distinction in custom where there is no rational one? — It is 
because the wpaker are controuled by the stronger. — To you, my en- 
lightened friend, who could instruct nations on this subject, I need not 
enlarge. The map of history is ever open to your capacious mind; you 
have marked the boundaries of right with precision; and sure I am, 
you repine at the stupor and cowardice which brooked innovations on 
maritime law, and acquiesced in violations of natural rights that ought 
to have been warmly resisted at the door. — Is it too late to plead for 
the restoration of equitable principles? Nations, I hope, will yet com- 
bine for universal rights, — though leagued for the last twenty-seven 
years against them. 

The proposition made in July, 1792, by M. Chauvelin, the French 
ambassador, to lord Grenville, the English secretary of state, will for- 
ever reflect honor on the French government: — it was proposed, and in 
an eloquence worthy of the elevated principle, that the two govern- 
ments should stipulate, in the event of future wars to discard the igno- 
ble practice of seizing the private property of enemy's subjects on the 
high seas.- — How was this offer relished by the cabinet of England? — 
With silent, gloomy, indecent scorn: no answer was returned. Chau- 
velin was soon dismissed. — England had already diverted nations from 
her maritime rapine to a crusade against "French principles:" she held 
the trident of the seas, and resolved to cover them with desolation — 
a resolution too fatally realized. Why need I relate the horrors that 
followed, any more than recount the arrogant pretensions which had 
preceded that epoch of spoliation? — The laws of nations vanished be- 
fore the dictation of Britain: In March 1793, the English and- Russian 
cabinets arbitrarily prohibited all trade with France in naval stores, 
corn, grain, salted meat, or other provisions! — Still more infamous than 
this was the secret order issued by the English cabinet in November 
following — by which their cruizers were ordered to capture all vessels 
laden with the produce of a French colony, or carrying supplies for 
the use of such colony. — What a pity that there is not a bedlam for 
ambitious governments! — If the prohibitions of the Grand Alliance in 
1689 were abominable as those of Elizabeth had been a century before, 
(the one levelled at France, the other at Spain) the outrages since the 
coalition against France have exceeded them all. The violence that 
supplanted the law, became itself the law: Professional sophistry al- 
ways stood ready to render its aid, by turning infractions into prece- 
dents. England had condemned vessels for apparently steering towards 
blockaded ports; and confiscated ships for having salted provisions on 
board. Pronouncing sentence of condemnation on the Swedish ship 
Maria, Sir William Scott professed sacred regard for the immutable 
laws of nations; but in the next breath vaults into the excuse of pre- 
cedent, as the nature of that contest, he said, gave Britain the rights of 



55 

war in as large a measure as they had been previously exercised at 
any period of modern cizilization. When principles of law are thus 
driven from their moorings, he must be a poor quibbler who cannot 
steer them whither he pleases. — Admit the introduction of past extra- 
vagancies as a rule for present proceedings, and a laywer's decision is 
an ingenious jest—but British jests (in the courts of admiralty) have 
proved rather dear for neutrals.— The unalterable laws of nature, as 
applied to nations, the British judge evades by a sarcastic antithesis, 
viz: — that the doctrine inculcated by the new philosophy, or philan- 
thropy, tends to usher in a state of things not before seen in the world, 
"that of a military war and a commercial peaceP — Arguments of this 
sort cost little trouble— it is only necessary to subject reason to autho- 
rity, and it follows passively without farther enquiry. What a simple 
device for holding orders, parties, and nations in leading strings! 

The unrestrained transgressions of the strongest have thus been in- 
terpolated into the code; the feeble tacitly yielding where resistance 
was impracticable. Humanity has been banished by little and little 
from naval warfare. The audacious pretence of yesterday becomes pre- 
cedent to-day, and law to-morrow. Neutral nations have been in a 
manner enslaved like a particular people, through want of concerted 
opposition to the first encroachments. 

Practice of search was originally limited to the port; — maritime vio- 
lence has extended it over the ocean; — and British writers have 
styled it the right of search. 

It was the law of Europe, that neutral property was safe in an ene- 
my's ship : England has violated that maxim, though she acknowledg- 
ed it so late as 1753, in the reply to the Prussian manifesto.* 

It was also the settled conventional laws of Europe, that the flag- 
protects the cargo (free ships, free goods) England set it at nought, and 
even engaged the royal parties to the compact of armed neutrality in 
a league against civil liberty. 

Thus she innovated from time to time on the more civilized maxims 
introduced by the Dutch, French, Germans, Italians and even Span*- 
iards; misemploying her immense power to release herself from the 
common obligation. — In all her vagaries and deviations we faithfully 
aped her, excepting only one conspicuous instance. 

It was very natural that Frederick II. of Prussia, seeing no prospect 
of reparation at sea for English spoliation, on his commerce, should se- 
questrate the monies due to the British upon Silesia by way of mort- 
gage, when that duchy was ceded by Austria. His manifesto in justi- 
fication of the measure is a masterly defence of neutral rights. — Bri- 
tain constantly pursued her career of naval depredations; her law ora- 
cles varnishing all her acts by strained constructions; — insisting that 



* In 1438, it was ordained by the Dutch in their general assembly, that during 
the war then existing against the Hanse towns, the goods of neutrals should not 
be good prize when taken in an enemy's ship, provided they put in their claim 
and proved their property. — Such honesty was there in early usages of many na- 
tions until English superiority drove them into disuse; and her admiralty courts 
executed the orders of the government, — intimating that laws might be modified 
as wars had became more naval. 



56 

every thing was in a state of perpetual gyration, and all depended on 
occasional interpretation. Their ethical system resembles the Carte- 
sian theory of atoms floating in aerial vortices : all is in endless whirl. 
The atomists are lords of the ascendant : their subtile particles now 
flow so copiously throughout juridical and political space that our verv 
legislators have caught the disease of precedent from the courts of 
law. Points and atoms govern supremely: English "authority" has 
been more pernicious than all her navies and her intrigues: we have 
chained our destiny to opinions, and turned principles adrift; whereas 
known principles ought to govern opinions. 

Such isthe vagueness of maritime law, and the certainty of maritime 
devastation^ violence must be used against violence. If nations then 
will not desist from plunder; — if they will not admit a "military war 
and a commercial peace," but mimic England in all her fashions, 
whims or precedents, they must take the consequences. Brazilian 
commerce must run its hazard with that of the Oriental republic. 
In this condition of affairs, it is weakness, it is hypocrisy to decry 
privateering. Wrong must be retaliated by wrong; desolation by de- 
solation. May the experiment of the lex talionis prove restorative of 
justice ! — In this aspect of things it was, that a publicist frankly con- 
temned the " affected delicacy of conscience" which shuddered at the 
employment of privateers, Public navies and privateers are autho- 
rised by the same law : they have the same object : we cannot discri- 
minate between them as weapons of war. It was perfectly ludicrous 
to hear murmurs against French privateers, when the enemy-govern- 
ment had refused to relinquish maritime pillage, and had scoured eve- 
ry sea. " As much then, says he, as these declaimers are censurable, 
so much are they worthy of praise, who generously expose their lives 
and fortunes to the danger of privateering. — As they are in a better 
situation in some respects (says V&lin) than the government with its 
apparatus of formidable fleets, they render an additional service to 
their country by relieving it from the burden of arming at its own ex- 
pense, a great number of vessels which without their aid, it would be 
obliged to fit out as cruizers." (See maritime law of Europe by 
Azuni, part ii. ch. S.) 

So, privateers prosecute a public quarrel at private risk. Love of 
booty is a common motive . privateers fight for pnze-money as na- 
vies do. It has not been objected to the public brunch of the naval 
force, that it is degraded by cupidity in fighting for plunder, while an 
army fights only for duty and honor. If privateers have no right to 
capture individual property, neither have navies.— But the objection 
unseasonable at present. 

You sir, recollect too vividly the scenes of our revolution. When the 
continental congress were straining every nerve at home, and Franklin 
was issuiug their commissions to naval officers abroad, no man could have 



•j- Barrere, who so strenuously recommended a European pact for freeing the 
ocean, beautifully depicted its blessing's : " It would cause to be forgotten the 
crimes and calamities which a centurv of English policy has spread over the 
*arth." 



57 

conceived'such absurdity as we are now exposing. No man durst avow 
sentiments so hostile to an infant, nation, and so repugnant to common 
sense. We were solicitous to obtain the service of enterprising spir- 
its from every clime. The same illustrious sage who had drawn his 
pen against private plunder, then abetted privateering— zealously abet- 
ted it. He saw the necessity of galling the enemy with his own ar- 
rows. Britain was harrassed,— the maritime leviathan was annoyed by 
our sword-fish in every latitude— he bellowed with rage.— his angry 
foam was mixed with that of the ocean.-he ungenerously tried to inti- 
midate the feeble states of Denmark and Holland. He carried his 
mean effrontery so far as to demand capt. Paul Jones from the Dutch, 
who were thus required to violate the laws of hospitality — the com- 
mon right of asylum. Jones was claimed as a pirate, though he held 
the commission of our revolutionary congress— What then were your 
sensationsj and those of your fellow-soldiers and compatriots ? — 
The same Dutch who recalled governor Van Graaf from St. Eustatius 
to pacify the British government, behaved with modest dignity on this 
occasion: they firmly refused the requisition in a pertinent answer: — 
They would not judge, they said, the legality of capt. Jones' s conduct; 
they only afforded him shelter from storms without permitting him ta 
unload his cargoes or sell his prizes. 

Have we not sacrificed amply to neutrality?— Some think that we 
did too much, as no nation is bound to abridge her passive commerce 
for the accommodation of a belligerent. —especially an unprovoked ag- 
gressor warring on liberty. Both parties receive asylum in our ports; 
both may repair their sea-beaten ships, and receive provisions.— As in 
the former instance, it was entirely in the power of England to parry 
privateering thrusts, by acknowledging our independence, so in the 
present, His Most Faithful Majesty holds the remedy in his own hand. 
Let him retreat from an unjustifiable war.— Bis murmurs at unequal 
hospitality must be a diplomatic joke —I know that the patriot gov- 
ernments consider the detention of their vessels in our ports as a sensi- 
ble grievance. Their causes have been hung up for months and months 
in our courts under libel. #c. the Spanish agents playing off a ruse de 
guerre under color of reclamations. Our lawyers and officers have 
been at the service of the Spanish and Portuguese consuls,— while the 
patriots had no friend — in court.. 

The Banda Oriental has no legitimate right to wage a naval war, 
—according to the Secretary's logick (if I understand it,) because she 
'•has neither ships nor seamen, nor even ports." — I believe that this 
caveat is as distant from reason and law, as Fepe from Daddy. Sup- 
pose tor argument's sake, that the joint power and artifice of Puer- 
reydon and king John, had snatched all the ports, anchorages, and 
roadsteads from the Oriental republic, (impossible as the undertaking 
is) would that disaster deprive her also of the right to recover them? 
Were our rights, think you, diminished during the late war, because 
British squadrons held possession of the Chesapeake Bay? Did they 
not rather widen, if possible, with the emergency?— If by their supe- 
rior navy the British had occupied all our sea ports, would we have been 
likewise deprived of the right to dislodge them? if we have no seamen, 
H 



58 

ought we not to hire them? if no ships, ought we not build or pur- 
chase them? or employ foreign officers and crews willing to hoist 
our flag and fight in our cause? If no ports, the more pressing the 
necessity of retaking them. What sort of right is that which most 
fails us when most wanted? In verity we might say of such a phan- 
tasm what your favorite does ot paper-money, or stocks: "Paper- 
stock always promises to defend a nation, and always flees from dan- 
ger." — It is a vaunted cheat. If our author's logick be genuine, ye 
halt and decrepid, cast down your crutches; none but the robust are en- 
titled to their support! — Ye dim-sighted book-worms, pluck off your 
spectacles, — the lynx-eyed alone have a right to their superfluous aid. 
A vaunt ye penny-less wretches, you have no claim to the bounty of 
benevolence; go, despair and die — the benefit of alms is reserved to 
the opulent. "To him that hath, much shall be given, and he shall 
have abundance; but from him that hath not, shall be taken even that 
which he hath." — And you, brave, shrewd, revered, patriarchal, state* 
ly, — "Daddy" Artigas, you have no maritime rights, though the 
finest rivers flow through your vales, and the sublimest cataracts dash 
from your mountains; though nature has given you so many canals that 
you want no artificial ones, — though the ocean and bay embrace two 
sides of your enviable territory, and numberless rivers intersect the 
whole, your image, or that of your trusty Llaneros must never be re- 
flected from their even surface — those watery mirrors belong to the 
toilet of king John, and all your rights are concentred in his diadem. 

What jurist ever conceived grades of rights among nations?— In peace 
or in war they are relatively the same. The youngest is equal with 
the oldest, the weakest with the strongest. Their equality in the. eye 
of the law is complete. To argue that a man has no right to procure 
food or refreshment, when accident or violence deprives him of both, is 
to decide that he is debarred from eating when hungry, and from drink- 
ing when dry. — Necessity, heretofore deemed law-paramount, is now 
rejected: B's doctrine is, that rights recede as exigency approaches. 
"1 question much whether Artigas has half a dozen seamen," and con- 
sequently above as many rights — or rather none at all. Juvenal nev- 
er thought of depreciating the rights of virtuous men, when he was 
moralizing on their small proportion to the vicious: — From their pau- 
city they seemed more precious in his sight! 

Rari quippe boni.- rmmero vix sunt totidem, quot 

Thebarum ports veldivitis ostia Nili.-* 

All the woild will argue contrariwise from the Secretary. If Arti- 
gas have few sailors, he should augment them: if his army decline, re- 
cruit it; if his treasury fail, replenish it; if his ammunition be spent, 
replace it. Whatever is exhaustible is also renewable. 

Finally, as a practical difference exists with regard to property, our 
argute disputant appears to transfer it by a forced parity to persons: 
he concludes no doubt, that is is admissible to subsidize soldiers but 



* The good are few; iheir numb .i-'s scarce at par 
"With the gates of Thebes, or mmths of fruitful Nile. 



59 

not sailors. If he means not this, he argues still more absurdly, that 
we cannot repair the mischances ot war, and that losses are necessa- 
rily irretrievable! — Was ever such a strange quiddity gravely obtruded 
on the people? 

Here, sir, we may take our leave of a topic worn threadbare. Though 
never disposed "to treat a friend's amusements with neglect," I should 
deprecate putting his patience to a severer trial. With a few concise 
reflections I hasten to the close. What I have said cannot be mis- 
timed, if it contribute in the slightest degree to stem the torrent of 
delusion that is rolling over the land. — It was artfully excited and ea- 
gerly fomented — It must be firmly repelled. 
_ If we sell vessels to Spaniards, we dispose of them likewise to pat- 
riots, and stand acquitted of partiality. It is a fair commerce. With 
respect to our seamen, none can reasonably murmur; when unemploy- 
ed at home they adventure abroad; for the seaman's "home is on the 
deep." English sailors are equally erratic. English seamen and some 
Americans enabled commodore Brown in 1814 to beat the Spanish, 
squadron before Montevideo; a victory that led to the capture of that 
city. British sailors enter the service of Venezuela, of Buenos Ay res 
and Chili; admiral Cochrane's squadron is almost wholly British. — So 
some of our sailors have emigrated to South-America, and shipped on 
board of patriot privateers. This is not the greatest of evils— -if in- 
deed it be an improper act at all. — The Spanish marine is open to them 
also, as our bays are open to the Spanish fleet. — Do they prefer the pat- 
riot service? It is natural. We must not blame their choice, unless 
we resolve to become forgetful, ungrateful, unnatural, and unwise. 
Let us remember the succor we received "in our utmost need." All 
we are bound to perform is to execute the laws and prevent improper 
outfits in our territory.— To interdict our seamen from emigration is 
impossible; and it were unlawful if practicable: nay more, it would in- 
crease present calamities: There are but too many complaints of pira- 
cy. Would we drive seamen to piracy by restraining privateers; I mean 
lawful, regular privateers? Governments are answerable for the dis- 
tress they occasion to any productive class of the community. Why is 
the most villainous of all traffic now so fatally brisk? Why are hundreds, 
perhaps thousands of American and English sailors engaged in the ac- 
curst, nefarious, facinorous, damnable, infernal slave trade? Why! 
but because they were starving; and urged by want to man kidnapping 
fleets? Brazil and Cuba are openly receiving a ceaseless current of 
wretched Africans; and I have reason to believe, that an immense num- 
ber of slaves are smuggled into several of the West India islands,-- 
prohibitions notwithstanding. Twenty-one vessels are commonly en- 
gaged in the trade of manstealing out of the poor barren island of St. 
Thomas. Where do they sell their cargoes? — Ill-judged measures to 
restrain immorality always promote it. So it will be in this case. A 
gentleman of much experience in a sister city lately observed, that a 
puritannical restriction on the manly and elegant amusement of ska- 
ting on Sundays &c. tempted many into grogshops, or a private in- 
dulgence of tippling— Annihilate pirates and slave-dealers, if possible 
—they do not deserve to live. — With the independence of all Spanish- 



60 

America, now near at hand, the privateers may furl their sails-— their 
vocation will be gone.— To have been consistent with himself, our "Sec- 
retary" ought to have censured com. Brown and his English sailors for 
beating the Spaniards before Montevideo: for, if Buenos-Jlyres might 
legitimate! j enlist English sailors there, why may not Jirtigas natura- 
lize American tars at Santa Lucia or Maldonado?---He has not denoun- 
ced the British government for buying Hessians to fight yourself and 
your comrades; and that is the reason perhaps of his pardoning the re- 
volutionary congress for accepting the voluntary aid v>f French seamen 
and soldiers. — God knows, what would be our condition without them! 
1 am sorry, my friend, that the saving examples of that day have slip- 
ped from the memory of our pert scribblers, whose pates are so stuffed 
with British law-precedents that there is no room left for sober reason. 
We ought not to forget the circumstances inseparable from the gene- 
ral pacification of Europe and North America— the ships laid up,— the 
sailors turned adrift. Looking to causes, we would regard the needy 
tar with sympathy— perhaps we should as often be obliged to condole 
with unfortunate victims, as to rail at culprits, if we moderate our 
blind rage, and reflect impartially. Be kind to the gallant tar in peace 
who was loyal to us in war.— 

I deeply regret this clamor for another reason: it distracts popular 
attention from the lamentable pr3gress .of anti-republican institutions 
in the United States; institutions which, in form of banks and funds 
are cancer-like corroding the vitals of the republic,— while the people 
are gradually familiarized to the pest that must destroy civil liberty— 
if the usarpation be not checked. Incorporations, stock and patronage, 
infallibly transform a ■ free government into an aristocracy, the worst 
of all systems. They transfer the reins of power to an interested par- 
ty, always at variance with the public interest; they corrupt elections; 
they give the controul of the majority, the country and its fortunes to 
a minority. And we behold the erection of such a deadly system, with 
indifference,— when we ought to resolve to-day that the edifice shall be 
demolished before to-morrow.— If we hesitate at this precious moment 
to put our better destiny beyond the reach of chance, fallibility, or de- 
pravity, the occasion may never recur.— Preposterous custom acquires 
force from the indolence of mankind. We speedily learn to tolerate 
what we hated at first sight; and the quaint quibble of to-day, becomes 
in time a venerable relic. Forced analogy and false respect for sophis- 
tical jargon are leading the republic to its grave.— Manly thinking is 
going rapidly out of date; for the reign of the sophists is established.-— 
The cabala of a venal order is the object of popular reverence.— Laws 
are nothing, interpretation every thing; a dictionary of obscurity is the 
standard of authority— like the grand Lama, most adored when most 
involved in oarkness. Thus the torture of a conjunction and two pre- 
positions was made the instrument of the "civil extinction" of the il- 
lustrious Horne Tooke. "For mankind in geneial are not sufficient- 
ly aware, that "words without meaning, or of equivocal meaning, are 
the everlasting engines of fraud and injustice: and that the grimgrib- 
ber of Westminstei -hail is a mitre fertile, and a much more formida- 
ble source of imposture than the abracahabra of magicians." (See 



61 

Divisions of Purley, vol. I. page 61, 62.) I speak not against the 
Ciceros of the profession, a few of whom appear in an age; but against 
the pernicious principles of the profession itself, and the idolatrous 
homage paid to dicta in form of juridical doctrines, some of which are 
worthy only of contempt or laughter. — It is the progress of this influ- 
ence I dread as fatal to the republic; the order being ever ready to 
league with corruption or parties as they happen to be engendered in a 
state.— Has old age so withered my faculties that I am labouring under 
an i!lusion?--Is not our inheritance already partitioned out among in- 
vaders? Have not bankers and brokers taken one half, and the pet- 
tifoggers the other? We are losing our relish for equity and republic- 
anism every day. — The very sapient legislature of this great state has 
just adopted a grave resolution, not for extending rights but slavery.— 
You will judge impartially. 

Having prostrated the Secretary on his own testimony and his own 
argument, it remains to view the extent, situation, principal rivers and 
ports, of Entre Rios and the Banda Oriental. Their geographical po- 
sition, climate and fertility are so accurately described in Bland's 
Report on Buenos-Ayres, (in pages 11, 15, 16, 25 and 26,) that to you 
or any attentive reader, it is almost superfluous to say a word on the 
subject. — The Secretary must have presupposed total ignorance or 
entire indifference in the public when he ventured (for a daring under- 
taking it was) to publish his book. 

Tou will please to open Faden's edition oi ITArcy's elegant map 2d 
edition corrected in 1817. You may peruse it with the same delight 
that we do a painting of any beautiful object. Eastward of the river 
Uruguay, and north of the bay of La Plata lies the Banda Oriental, a 
territory hardly surpassed in conveniency of scite or beauty of scenery 
on the globe. It is washed on its western side by the great river Uru- 
guay, into which disembogue numerous refreshing streams arising in 
the mountainous spaces to the eastward. Taking in the whole territo- 
ry eastward of the Paraguay, and south or southeast of the Parana, — 
casting your eye from the northern limit on the river Ignaca, about 26 
deg. 20 min. south latitude, to Funta del Este in 35 deg. and travers- 
ing the line of demarcation with Brazil, from the landmark on the At- 
lantic margin, north of the Invernada de San Feliz Jose to the conflu- 
ence of the river San Antonio with the Iguacu; you will pause to ad- 
mire an incomparable aiea of 146,170 square miles.* This tract is 
unsurpassed for advantage of soil and inland navigation. In fact its 



*I omit the remnant of territory belonging 1 to Santa Fe, as traced in Bland's Re- 
port, page 16 — as not necessary in this enquiry. It probably amounis to 50,1 '00 
square miles: both provinces: including 4 the jurisdiction of Cornentes, the seal of 
the Guarani missions, &c. contain, according to Mr. Bland, 190,500 square h les. 
The Banda Oriental has an extent of 86,000. — Eastward of the Paraguay tliere are 
93,548,800 acres; which, divided into farms of 100 acres, would support 935,-88 
families; supposing 5 persons to each family, we find it capable of supporting a 
population of 4,677,440 souls. — Estimating the capabilities it affords for commer- 
cial cities, this superficies may one day or other contain eight millions of inhabi- 
tants. 



Q2 

masters will command all navigation in that quarter, for all the rivers 
of note pour their tribute into the Uruguay or Paraguay. Whoever con- 
trouls these, controuls all the others. From the northeast the Para- 
guay receives the vast volume of the Parana — from the north west, on 
its right bank, the Pilcomayo, Rio Grande, Vermejo; and Rio Salado, 
successively — omitting less considerable streams though navigable. 

If these provinces be so enviable from their fertility and other natu- 
ral advantages as to have occasioned frequent wars between Portugal 
and Spain, (the former holding the post of Colonia del Sacramento for 
above two hundred years,) the Banda Oriental is relatively as de- 
sirable on account of its ports. I say relatively, as there are no very 
good ports on the La Plata; the most tolerable are on its northern shore, 
if we may after Maldonado except Ensenada de Barragan, the only 
harbour on the bay. in possession of Buenos-Ayres. It is 12 leagues- 
below the city; an open anchorage off Buenos Ay res itself does not de- 
serve the name of harbour. Access to Buenos-Jlyres is impeded by a 
bank, ( Banco de la Ciudad*) which has only one fathom depth on its 
inner edge. — Ranging along the northern shore, from cape Santa Ma- 
ria, we find to the west of the projecting point at Maldonado, G and 7 
fathoms; but the cove is much obstructed by a sand bank. Abreast of 
Montevideo (or San Felipe,) is a clear roadstead, with four fathoms 
water* t Apparently the most eligible position for an harbour on the 
bay is a little to the westward of Montevideo, a natural cove being 
formed by the indentation of the land at Santa Lucia. — It was formerly 
remarked by the Abbe Raynal as the best haven. Impediments have 
accumulated on its east side; but they are easily cleared. Vessels of 
light draught have free ingress and egress, and may chuse an anchor- 
age in 2, 24, and 3 fathoms. This place as well as Maldonado is pos- 
sessed by the Orientals. Colonia del Sacramento, nearly opposite Bu- 
enos-ilyres, has an anchorage of 5 and 6 fathoms, above the Baxo de 
Pescadores (or fishers' tdioals,) and three between those shallows and 
Funta de los Jlrtilleros. There are several anchorages along shore be- 
tween the places named. Passing up the river and north of the island 
of Martin Garcia, we may anchor in three or four fathoms, and abreast 
of Punta Carretas, 6 and 7. Ascending the Uruguay about 50 miles 
north of this, we encounter the embouchure of the Rio JYegro, having 
rolled its charming course from the mountains to the N. E. About 80 
miles directly above the mouth stands the town of Furificacion, the pre , 
sent capital of the Banda Oriental. §It is situate on the left, or south- 
em bank, a few miles below the entrance of the little river Perdido (or 
Grande.) The selection of this spot shows correct judgment, either 



* Literally, the city-bank,- and like other privileged banks, an impediment. 

-fThe harbour of Montevideo, (says captain Heyvvood) is very shoal; having 
only from 14 to 19 feet water, but the bottom is so very soft that vessels receive 
no damage by grounding- there. A south south west wind, according to Azara, 
raises a tremendous surf; and sometimes drives vessels ashore, as it blows direct- 
ly into the harbour. 

§ Without estimating the windings, a gentleman acquainted with the country, 
has pointed out its position to me. 



63 

for commercial or military purposes. It is neither too far from com- 
merce, nor too near a blockading squadron. The example of former 
wars taught its founder, that the Spaniards by founding a city at Mon- 
tevideo, threw a force very readily in rear of the Portuguese at Colo- 
nia, He keeps up his communication with the rugged country to the 
east and north east, or darts upon the plain when invited by the scent 
of game; while the commerce of the Uruguay and La Plata, takes oft" 
hides and produce, and brings in return munitions of war. But these 
he principally receives at Maldonado. — Can the Portuguese insulate a 
chieftain like this? Not without feeling a shock in the attempt. 

It is not the purpose of this sketch to repeat the dangers of naviga- 
ting the La Plata. English Bank, Bank of Cortex, 8fc. are noted in 
every chart. Sands, tides, and winds, render it perilous to mariners. 
Captain Heywood's Instructions are ueemed valuable. The chart be- 
fore me, constructed by the late Mr. Bernard, (and inscribed to gen- 
eral Samuel Smith,) does not correspond entirely with Heywood's de- 
scription. Depth sometimes varies at different, points with winds, &c. 

Vessels of 300 tons can navigate the Paraguay to Corrientes, about 
700 miles above Buenos-Ayres; of course with entire facility to Santa 
Fp, distant only 300. The fact is incidentally stated in a manuscript 
memoir on the advantages of encouraging the cultivation of coffee in 
the jurisdiction of Corrientes, written by a distinguished citizen of Bu- 
enos-Ayres. (See also Bland's Report, pages S3, 34.) 

Until the middle of the last century, Ensenada de Barragan was the 
regular naval station for the Spanish frigates, as well as a port for mer- 
chantmen. The Buenos-Ayreans contend that it is more commodious 
than Montevideo, and confidently cite Azara's voyages in proof of it. 
This city was founded by the Spanish government, not, (as Raynal as- 
serts,) because Ensenada was unsuitable as a port, but to curb more 
effectually the encroachments of the Portuguese. Don M. Moreno 
affirms that Montevideo obtained many privileges injurious to other 
towns. It became the naval depot of the government, and a station for 
government-ships &c. The spirit of monopoly spread from the cabinet 
of Spain through all classes in the state: Spanish statesmen had not 
judgment sufficient to promote the interests of one set of subjects with- 
out the ruin of another. (See Vida <Sfc. Be Moreno, page 280 et seq.J 
Buenos-Ayres beheld the rise of Montevideo with an invidious eye; 
but with little reason, if she herself could have beeu satisfied with an 
enormous monopoly. This account of its ports does not wholly explain 
the Portuguese invasion of the Banda Oriental, however attractive they 
are * 

ENTIRE LIST OF PORTS AND SITUATION 

Ports. — Maldonado, Montevideo, Santa Lucia, Colonia, Ensenada, Capilla Nu- 
eva, Arroyo de la China, Purificacion, Santa Fe, Corrientes, Balisas de Buenos- 
Ayres, Patagones, Bahia de San Gregorio, Puerto Deseado, and Cobija, on the 
Pacific. 

Of these the following belong to the Banda Oriental: — Maldonado, Montevideo, 
Santa Lucia, Colonia, Capilla-Nueva, Arroyo de la China, and Purificacion. 



64 

"The soil of the Banda Oriental," says Bland, "is uncommonly pro- 
ductive, and well adapted to all kinds of grain: of which it can easily 
be made to yield a most liberal return. Its surface is very waving; 
and every where abundantly irrigated with never-failing springs and 
streams of the purest water. — There are some great spaces destitute of 
timber, particularly along the coast of La Plata, toward the Portuguese 
settlement of Rio Grande de San Pedro. Groves of fine timber, more 
than sufficient for all its necessary probable wants, are however scat- 
tered over its whole extent; and its more northern extremity is, for the 
most part, an entire forest. There has no quality yet been discover- 
ed in its generous soil which indicates the least unkindness to any ve- 
getable growth. There are no bogs, swamps, or lakes to be found in 
any part of it; and its climate throughout is remarkably salubrious. In 
short, buxom nature frolics over this beautiful scene, aud with an open 
hand bestows every where health, variety, gaiety and fecundity. The 
Banda Oriental has however hitherto been applied to no other purpose, 
than pasturage, and the rearing of cattle, mules and horses." 

"The country properly called the Entre Rios, is, in most particu- 
lars, similar to the Banda Oriental; it is very fertilp, and is furnished 
with an abundance of timber." 

A natural boundary, the Uruguay and La Plata, fruitful soil, good cli- 
mate and various ports, are tempting objects to H. M. F. Majesty. — It 
was to wrest this admirable territory (the key of the rest) from the hands 
of the Portuguese, that the Spaniards carried on such obstinate wars 
against them. The warlike character of the Spanish colonists is noted 
from the earliest epoch of their settlement. This martial genius sup- 
plied a volunteer army, and gave at length a decided preponderance to 
Spain. The treaty of Ildetonso was to settle territorial boundaries for- 
ever. — The people who had frustrated so many invasions at their own 
expense and by their own intrepidity; who had defended their frontier 
against the independent Querandis,t who curbed the audacity of Cav- 
endish and other English corsairs; who drove back the Dutch in 1628; 
who had defeated the attempts of the French in 1 698, and of the Danes 
in the following year; who expelled the French from their colonial es- 



In possession of Artigas or his associates. — Santa Lucia, Capilla Nueva, Arroyo 
de la China, Purificacion, Santa Fe, and Corrientes. — 6 free ports. 

Maldonado harbor is formed by the island Gorriti and the mainland. The Por- 
tuguese hold the island; the Orientals occupy terra firma 

In the river Plata: — Maldonado, Montevideo, Santa Lucia, and Colonia. 

On the Uruguay and Rio Negro: — Capilla Nueva, Arroyo de la China, Purifica- 
cion. 

On the Parana.-* — Santa Fe and Corrientes. 

* Called Paraguay, on the English maps; the Parana bearing its name no farther 
than its confluence with the Paraguay. — It sometimes confounds foreigners; as if 
we were to give the name of Missouri to the Mississippi from its junction, confin- 
ing the title of Mississippi to all the space from thence upward to its source. 

fThe Querandis Indians had never been subjected to the Incas — but were ut- 
terly exterminated by the Spaniards. 



65 

tablishment at cape Santa Maria, in 1777', the same people, I say, af'te 
three sanguinary wars, had conquered Colonia from the Portuguese, 
and earned a reputation of which they may justly vaunt; whence comes 
it, that they now look tamely on the inroads of the same Portuguese; 
or co-operate with them to subjugate the republicans of the Banda Ori- 
tal and Santa-Fe? — (See, La Vida y Memorias del Dr. Don Mariano 
Moreno, page 92-93.) — The Brazilians should remember, says this 
author, (page 277) that in the year 1776, our troops held possession of 
Rio Grande and the town of San Pedro, extending their domination a 
hundred and thirty leagues within the territory of Brazils; that Buenos- 
Ayres has often triumphed by her own resources^ that she has just des- 
troyed before their eyes, an English expedition of 11,000 men, who, 
if directed against Brazil, could have conquered it; they should re- 
member that the strength of our population does not consist of wretch- 
ed slaves and stupid Indians. — As if its contact with us by a frontier 
line of more than five hundred leagues were not enough to produce col- 
lision, — as if its vast territory were not sufficient to satisfy its thirst 
for ruling wilderness, the court of Brazil had cast its covetous eyes to- 
wards the coasts of La Plata, and striven for a long course of years to 
occupy wholly or partially, the delicious country on its northern banks.* 
It was about the meridian of her successes against the Portuguese 
that La Plata was erected into a vieeroyalty,— having been previously 
dependent on the government of Paraguay, and on the viceroy of Lima, 
the supreme authority acknowledged from Panama to Magellan. (See 
Funes's History torn. III. ch. 12, lib. v.) 

The enlightened author who furnishes so much information on the 
colonial state and revolution of Buenos-Ayres speaks with patriotic re- 
sentment of the Portuguese invasion. — Their king had ruined his own 
colony by a sordid policy; had fled from Portugal and taken refuge in 
Brazil; he had not brought any accession of funds or forces with him, 
yet he is hardly landed on this continent when he mimics the conduct 
of Buonaparte,! whose abilities or power he is far from possessing. 

It seems extraordinary that the government should leave these fine 
territories exposed to the armies of Brazil,— and more extraordinary 
that it should unite in the war against them. The high-spirited people 
who shed tears of rage and mortification when they saw the British 



*The king of Brazil has not fulfilled the prediction of an enthusiastic writer.-— 
"He cannot fail to become entirely American, and anti-European as soon as he has 
become extra-European." — Geographical distinctions are imperceptible and fu- 
tile, compared with the impressions of moral and political tuition. — What is it to 
u«, or to his vassals, that he has crossed the Atlantic, since he has brought his 
kingly principles with him? — It was at his court the scheme of a dynasty for La 
Plata was hatched, should a branch of the old one not be transplanted thither. — 
At his court was fixed the fulcrum of that lever which pulled down the new Tem- 
ple of Liberty in Buenos-Ayres. — Our "Secretary" not only passes these things 
by, but writes panegyrics on the "men in power" — on the upstarts who snatched 
the government from republican hands. 

fit will be recollected that this work was published ih London, in 181S. 
I 



66 

troops march into the Plaza, how can they unsheath their swords 
against the gallant champions of the Oriental Banda? Are the purpo- 
ses of the revolution changed? Have they disappeared with the illus- 
trious leaders who began a system of amelioration so auspiciously in 
1810? — No alternative is left to the Orientalists but extirpation or sub- 
jugation. They must pass under the yoke of Brazil or of Buenos- 
Ayres! We know the resolution — to maintain their equal rights or 
perish in their defence. 

Passing over the pretensions of the queen of Brazil in 1810, 11, 12 
&c; the intrigues at Rio Janeiro, and the correspondence with certain 
characters at Buenos-x\yres and Montevideo; overlooking for the pre- 
sent the brave atchievments of the Orientals, first against the Span- 
iards, and next against the coalition,— «it strikes us as a remarkable 
coincidence, that the last Brazilian invasion correspond with the as- 
cendancy of the present party in Buenos-Ayres.— Puerreydon had 
been banished (but not without trial) to Punta San Luis, for his con- 
nexions with the Portuguese, at whose court he had been an agent — 
was recalled from exile and promoted by the influence of Alvear, who 
was soon after denounced as a traitor. — Puerreydon becomes Supreme 
Director,— carries on the system with a bolder hand, and exiles or 
dispatches every man who refuses compliance with hie behests. The 
congress (so called!) had been shuffled, cut and packed as he pleased. 

While a monarchy was in agitation at Buenos-Ayres, it might have 
been agreed that Brazil should be a neutral spectator, unless Artigas 
and his stubborn, uncomplaisant gauchos spurned the measure— Then 
these should be surrendered as malefactors to be crucified by the Bra- 
zilians; Buenos-Ayres to furnish her contingent to enforce the con- 
tract — To perpetuate the spirit of monopoly under the new govern- 
ment, the Portuguese could have engaged on their part to prevent ri- 
vals from starting up in the Banda Oriental, whilst Buenos-Ayres was 
to subdue Entre Rios, coerce Santa-Fe, secure the navigation of the 
Paraguay, and command the commercial scites on its banks, or those 
of its tributary waters. 

Monopolists would readily support royalists: they recollected that 
Ensenada declined after the erection of Montevideo: might it not 
therefore be convenient to disenable all the towns on the North of La 
Plata from emulating Buenos-Ayres? What means more effectual than 
giving them into the safe-keeping of a despot? Where men are degra- 
ded, the arts, must decay — Commerce and freedom expire together. 
At worst — If Artigas should not be annihilated by the arms of tlie coa- 
lition, the Portuguese would engage his attention during the conquest of 
Chili and Peru by the troops and fleet of La Plata -^c. Thus ambi- 
tion trades with avarice in the government of nations; and the happi- 
ness of the million is bartered away for the aggrandisement of the few. 
If Montevideo drew the petty patronage of the Spanish fleet from 
the opposite side of the bay, Buenos-Ayres enjoyed more solid privile- 
ges: Some of these will impress us with wonder. La Plata having 
been the outer commercial door to the kingdom of Peru, merchants ra- 
ther choosing that entrance than doubling Cape Horn, Buenos-Ayres 
was the centre of an extensive commerce inward and outward. Three 



m 

hundred merchant vessels annually sought its ports. Merchandize to 
the amount «»f eighteen millions, for the consumption of Peru, passed 
chiefly through this channel. The major part of the herb of Paraguay 
was deposited in her warehouses before distribution through the pro- 
vinces;* and, to finish the climax of monopoly, she had the exclusive 
right of furnishing negro slaves for ail that part of America.! Chili 
and Peru received most of those unfortunate beings by that route; 
but, the vessels engaged in this inhuman traffic, were more recently 
obliged to enter the Rio Negro an important and beautiful river, which 
disembogues into the Atlantic in lat 41 South. This, you recollect, is 
one of the proposed points of communication between the two seas. 
The country around is inhabited by Indians. 

Too much of the old leaven entered into the new government: capi- 
talism, or the towering ambition of Buenos-Jlyres, has prevented the 
fruition of the most natural and equitable benefits, which ought to 
have been consequences of the revolution. — This glorious event was 
effected in La Plata with little commotion; in Chili without spilling 
blood: but the great founders were soon thwarted, and honest purposes 
defeated by selfish plots. — When Buenos-Ayres laudably turned its 
attention to the Ensenada, to Colorado, and the Rio Negro, (of the 
South, &c.) her rooted love of monopoly on whose lap she had been 
so affectionately dandled, seduced her into the sordid policy of paraly- 
zing the natural advantages of other cities and provinces. She made 
war on Cordova — on Santa-Fe, on Paraguay, on the Oriental Banda, — 
on Chili {in effect,) whosoever dissented from becoming her commer- 
cial subjects, must be her enemies. Many of them she has reduced to 
political dependence. Hence, the unhappy feuds which stain the 'scut- 
cheon of the martial people of La Plata, derive their origin from ava- 
rice and ambition. — It is a curious fact which cannot elude your pene- 
tration, that the Portuguese (exclusive of the secret compact) have fur- 
thered her domineering views on one side, and the Spaniards on the 
other: those leave Artigas no alternative in the Banda; these equally 
destroy alternative in Chili. Still keeping possession of the fastness- 
es of this lovely country ,— the island of Chiloe, Talcuhana (or Concepj 
cion) &c. &c. the key to the Pacific and the Gibraltar of the land, the 
honest Chilians have no option between obeying Buenos-Ayrean or 
Spanish masters. The heroes who had planned the recapture of Chi- 
loe and Talcahuana, were denounced, imprisoned, assassinated. — Lest 
remorse should enter guilty bosoms, our conscientious "Secretary" 
writes gloziug apologies for their crimes— justifies usurpation, paints 
hideous deformity with an angelic mien, scoffs at republicans as Jaco- 
bins, and patriots, as demagogues — misrepresents the known institu- 
tions of the country— and decorates his idols in a full suit of the "he- 
roic virtues." 



* A most grievous hardship, to compel cultivators and merchants to transport 
matte to the distance of 12 or 1500 miles, to be thence retailed for Lima;, 
Chili, or to the consumers of that article scattered intermediately to the W. and 
N. W. 

f See Moreno's Memoirs, p. 87. 



68 

Another illustrative instance may arrest attention: — mark it: 
The "Secretary" confesses that "previous to the revolution, the pro- 
duce of Tucuman had begun to be transported down the Vermejo:" (p. 
82, v. II.) And, wherefore does it not continue to follow the path ex- 
plored by that enterprising citizen of Salta, col. Cornejo, so justly ex- 
tolled in the Met curio Peruana of May 19, 1791? — Let the conduct of 
Buenos-Ayres answer the question. She has deprived affrighted com- 
merce of the advantages of Cornejo's ''fluvial voyage." Under the 
patronage of Josephine, the lady of Arredondo, viceroy of La Plata, 
with a couple of canoes and a small xebec, "he arrived after a naviga- 
tion of 44 days at the junction ot the Bermejo with the Paraguay, 24 
leagues North of the city of Las Corrientes, having sailed 382 leagues 
without meeting the smallest obstruction." Here was discovered an 
immense saving of time and labor, in transporting by water the pro- 
ductions theretofore carried by mules; — promising a grand accession to 
the commerce of Tucuman and Peru with Paraguay, and eventually 
with Buenos-Ayres. It would connect the traffic of Assumption &c. 
&c. with that of La Plata: bat, Buenos-Ayres determined to enslave 
all, and monopolize every thing. Paraguay very fortunately refused to 
exchange Spanish for Buenos- Ayrean fetters.* But, a faithful narra- 
tion of this affair would have defeated the imposture which! the "Sec- 
retary" endeavors so smoothly to effect, at p. 27. He there tells us, 
that the Banda Oriental might have united with Buenos-Ayres "upon 
the same terms with the other provinces." What were those terms, 
those equitable conditions? The question involves an absurdity; be- 
cause Buenos-Ayres required implicit unconditional submission to her 
dictation. — As in the conquests of old Rome, the queestors, prsetors, 
and proconsuls used to take the reins of the colony, so the military ca- 
bal of La Plata sent out their governors to occupy conquered districts 
. — Montevideo was occupied in this way as soon as it capitulated: Bue- 
nos-Ayres seized the government, without consulting the gallant citi- 
zens and soldiers of the Banda, who had co-operated in the siege, and 
whose right it was to have governed themselves as a co-state. No choice 
was left them but to obey or be proscribed. And, the conspirators 
against civil liberty had the effrontery to upbraid equal citizens as schis- 
maticks, — aye, and to proclaim their chiefs as traitors!!! On the same 
plan of subjugation, Puerreydon was formerly dispatched to rule Cor- 
dova, and subsequently (with the army) to govern Charcas, if he could 
then have taken it. 



*In opposition to the acknowledged fact of this government's spreading offen- 
sive wars into every province, our "Secretary" says, page 179, vol II. "It must 
be recollected that these people are at war for their existence!" — The city exhi- 
hibits a great proportion of soldiery, drums continually beating, trumpets bray- 
ing, and troops every where in motion. There are several extensive barracks 
distributed through the city, filled chiefly with black troops." ib. Was it a war 
for "existence" that produced the invasion of Entre Rios and all the wanton strat- 
agems to circumvent their neighbours, to seduce Artigas's troops, — to attempt 
his assassination by fifty various contrivances? 



69 

It results from all these assumptions and atrocities, that the despot- 
ic government of La Plata has become worse fif possible,) than that 
of Spain; because Buenos-Ayres tyrannizes in the name of independence; 
and, associating barbarous havock, domination and plunder with the 
name of freedom, must bring odium on the term; they will disgust the 
ignorant with that which is only known by abuses. — How interesting 
in this aspect if things appears the opposition of general Jlrtigas! His 
hostility is the only hope of liberty. If he can maintain himself against 
the hosts and frauds of Buenos- Ayres, some favourable conjuncture may 
enable the people elsewhere to throw oft" the yoke. He seems the only 
rallying point for the friends of freedom. The Buenos- Ay rean cabal 
having imbrued their hands in innocent blood, and begun their career 
of usurpation by the extinction of republican leaders, will not relin- 
quish their purpose, while the agents of a foreign government counte- 
nance their crimes. Their bond of union is cemented by self-interest, 
avarice, ambition and murder. — And yet that cabal can procure an 
apologist in these United States! Assassination finds tolerance! What 
a stigma on our country! 

Some little truth has inadvertently fallen from the "Secretary's" pen, 
page 245, vol. II. "that Buenos-Ayres did not abuse the advantages she 
possessed, is scarcely to be believed, because it would not be human 
nature. — One of the strongest inducements held out to the provinces to 
acknowledge the junta, was the promise of convening a congress of 
deputies, so that every part of the viceroyalty might share in the govern- 
ment; a promise which, there is every reason to believe, was not as 
faithfully complied with, as it might have been. — There may be reasons 
for and against, which I do not feel inclined to weigh!" Why not?— ~ 
I will answer for this bashful man: because it would expose plots and 
despotism. 

P. 246. "It would require another volume to complete what I have 
to say on South-America. I have been compelled to leave a great part 
of my materials unemployed. It is possible that I may prepare them 
for some periodical work." 

It is also possible, that this olio, this spurious compound of left-hand- 
ed politicks, statistics, geography and history, may put a period to his 
work. — If his limits were narrow, why spend so much pen, ink, paper, 
time, space and fabrication in calumniating republicans — and republi- 
canism? He will find that he has too much luggage. — Bad authors 
and retreating armies have sometimes to abandon their baggage. 

It is not a little remarkable, that our Secretary surpasses in abusive 
asperity the declared Buenos-Ayrean enemies of Jlrtigas, personal 
and political: The author of "El Protector Nominal," an officer of 
the government, brands him with all the reproach imaginable, — un- 
packs his magazine of scandalous epithets, arraigns his vituperable and 
"antisocial doctrine," deplores his "fatal ascendancy," — upbraids him 
with his "sarracenism" or Turkish despotism, while he pretends to be 
the Protector of a free people. Although this writer raises a hue and 
cry against the ambition of Artigas, and declares that he propaga- 
ted seduction in Santa Fe and Cordova, &c. &c. had volcanized (i. e. 
inflamed) the popular mind in these districts; although he calls him? — 



70 

"monster, patriarch, false apostle ot liberty,-— -impostor, — pretended re- 
formers-rebel, traitor, deserter, new Attila — ravenous and blood v wolf, 
---novel legislator, new fangled politician, tyrant, Vandal/' &c. -&c. 
and opens the very floodgates of obloquy and ribaldry at page 45: al- 
though he affirms that general Artigas has "demoralized public opinion 
by his doctrines,'' and he is seconded by the Censor of Buenos-Avres, 
of June IS 18, which pronounces him u a Minotaur, whom we cannot as- 
sign to any class in nature or zoology , v yet there is detersion in the 
superlative character of their abuse. — And having seen their polished 
legions foiled by the impolite gauchos, the creature of the Buenos-Ay- 
rean government was obliged to admit some traits of heroism into his 
disgusting picture of the "Oriental"" chief. Our Secretary has copied 
the shade without introducing the light of the original: we shall there- 
fore give what he omits,* As it is in the words of an enemy, who thus 
accounts for the success of an antagonist, you will be at no loss to de- 
cide whether the tirade is not a panegyric. I translate from the ''Pro- 
tector Nominal*' very closely, the author's view of those physical and 
moral causes to which Artigas owes his influence. — 

PHYSICAL CAUSES. 

"Artigas has been always in campaign. Here is the cause of cause* 
in a single line. Diligence is commonly the parent of good fortune. — 
The rapidity which has sometimes been observed in his operations, has 
been the result of that appropriate attitude which he always maintain- 
ed. War bears a great resemblance to a game of hazard in the charac- 
teristic transicoriness of its periods. The gamester who neglects toim 
prove the moment of good luck, generally loses every thing in the turn 
ot bad. Whoever has to strengthen his pretensions must not lose an in- 
stant. Activity is commendable in all affairs; but in w^ar, and in great 
undertakings, it is indispensible. Artigas has been infatigable, whe- 
ther by temperament or bv system, or both. By this he has acquired 
physical advantages— moral respectability. The soldier who sees his 
general, — the gang of thieves who behold their leader sharing in just pro- 
portion the fatigues of war and hardships of the field, doubly exert them- 
selves to serve the interests of a comrade who understands how to re- 
commend himself by means of example. To these are to be added the 
natural facilities of the Banda Oriental and the territory of Entre Rios, 



Mu the same uncandid spirit, he overlooked the excellent biographical and his- 
torical articles said to be written by the respectable colonel Poinsett, on the cha- 
racter and political conduct of the Carreras, &c, in Chili. — His long 1 residence 
there gave that distinguished citizen a complete knowledge of men and measures; 
he intimately knew the republican virtues and valor of the Carreras, and he de- 
picted them it is said, in the Maryland Censor. Afraid of such irrefragable testi- 
raid of the expositions printed in Baltimore by the exiles, he lays them 
as;de, and pursues his calumnious job, as if those veridical works had no exist- 
ence. — The writings of our gallant Pouter too stared him in the face. The com- 
modore had penetrated the real character of general Carrera with the quickness 
of intuitive sagacity; and as the honest "Secretary" could not "damn by faint praise" 
a witness of this stamp, he compliments him unequivocally — but disregards his 
''Journal,*' and slanders the Chilian chief with all the vehemency of malice 



71 

as well as their numerous horse-herds which assure celerity of move- 
merit. This is a most powerful mean of waging successful war, especial- 
ly in spaces of country so immense as ours. Nor must we forget their 
numberless forests and defiles for shelter in case of adversity. To none 
is this so easy as to persons who have a practical acquaintance with their 
entrances, issues, and other circumstances. Finally, we must consi- 
der their superabundance of three articles of prime necessity, beef, wa- 
ter, and wood, a plenty so much the greater as the population of those 
countries is scanty. From all this it is not strange that such a conjunc- 
tion of circumstances has constituted a mass of grand resources, which 
have enabled Don Jose Artigas to advance his plans, gain some advan- 
tages and extend his influence farther than could be expected under a 
different state of things." 

MORAL CAUSES. 

(Abstracts &c.) He adopted a system of terrorism in the first place 
to compel a greater number of families to migrate with him, — itfter the 
Biienos-Ayreans raised the first siege of Montevideo. Those who 
would not accompany him were harrassed by his bands. 

"This man's apparent disinterestedness, the simplicity of his appar- 
el, and the identity of his sentiments, customs and manners with most 
of the people who surround him, enter likewise into the number of 
moral causes we are analyzing.* Mankind are much pleased v\ith 
these relations of mutual similarity. It operates more powerfully when 
they exist between the superior and the subordinate. The affections 
which are formed from the result of this analogy are generally most 
durable because the most natural. On the other hand, all the marches 
of Artigas's adherents have proceeded from a single point, from one 
sole direction — his own will. An origin so exclusive reconciles all. — 
A secret is impenetrable: the course of operations rapid. Much is done 
and little said. There is no alteration of plans, because there are no 
changes of administration, and he always meliorates the permanent 
concentration of power, though the hands that manage the reins of go- 
vernment are not the most dextrous. But this is not all. Artigas has 
always had a favorite spring to set in motion for the attainment of his 
purposes — fomenting hatred against Buenos- Ayres. This capital as 



•During the second siege of Montevideo he was dining one day in his quarters of 
the Three Crosses with several officers of his division, and some from the army of 
the line, who had marched from this capital. He is notified that a countryman 
was inquiring for him. He makes him come in, and as soon as he sees him, turns 
his back on the table, places one leg over another, and quitting the decent pos- 
ture in which he was eating, takes a lump of meat in both hands and in this situ- 
ation treats of business with the good countryman. The latter would no doubt 
depart highly captivated at seeing that general Artigas remained with his hands 
full of grease. — Such is the miserable finesse of the modern sage.'.'.'" 

Admitting the authenticity of this characteristic anecdote, it shows that Arti- 
gas does not postpone business to etiquette. As a military man, he would be cul- 
pable if he should. As lie was not "prinked up" like afopling, his primitive mode 
of feeding, would not dishonour the patriarch. — Greasy hands are better than bloo- 
dy ones! It is enough that they be morally clean. 



72 

directress of plans for consolidating the political emancipation of ther 
United provinces would have many rivals among narrow minds, ex- 
alted with false ideas of civil liberty. Artigas has artfully excited these 
jealousies." [Has he indeed?] p. 26 to 31. "Lastly, the condition of 
many of Artigas's followers ought to be kept in view. The greater 
number of those who move in his neighborhood are men of no estate or 
property. Some of them tor years back infested the Banda Oriental 
with their crimes. All those live in disorder, and overpower the class 
of proprietors, and worthy gentlemen of that precious territory, who 
deplore in silence the misfortuues of their country." 

It appears that mister Artigas is a saucy, stubborn fellow. Though the 
government sof Spain and Buenos-Ayres vied with each other in promot- 
ing him in the army, he would not accept an office from either: he un- 
civilly refused the deputy-governorship of Yapegu with a salary of 3000 
dollars and a military command annexed, (p. 11, 12) He was given to 
rash projects, which displeased Rondeau: — his intrepidity is owing to 
his ignorance — "La impavidez siempre ha sido regalia de. ignorancia." 
p. 15. deserted the standard of his country, (i. e. of Buenos-Ayres!) 
and had communication with the enemy*.\Thinking men foresaw these 
calamities, when they beheld him lettingXcrimes go unpunished, and 
instilling false notions on the sacred right of civil liberty, p. 16, 17. 

"But for this occupation (viz. of Banda Oriental by the Portuguese) 
there was probably another concurrent cause. It is not credible that 
the insulated state to which the Banda Oriental was reduced by her 
untimely secession from the other provinces, could have been the only 
motive that decided the cabinet of Brazil to take possession of it The 
leading cause of this conduct, we think may be found in the disgust 
and scandal with which the pernicious doctrine of Don Jose Artigas 
was heard in the neighboring court. Undoubtedly his extravagant 
maxims roused against him the justice, policy, and apprehensions of 
that power. She trembled without doubt lest symptoms of this conta- 
gion should be introduced into her house, and resolved to strangle it in 
the cradle. She beheld an adjacent territory in a blaze of anarchy by 
the adoption of anti-social principles subversive of all order; and this 
unquestionably decided her to extinguish a conflagration that might 
have been propagated to the centre of her states.*; &c. &c. 

"Such are the melancholy effects of Artigas's doctrine; seductive 
theories as impracticable as ruinous: abuse of liberty instead of its ra- 
tional use." p. 36, 37. 



* A similar story has been forged with respect to the leaders of the republican 
party in Chili. 

f Another cause may be repeated,— viz. the intrigues of Puerreydon and others 
in Buenos-Ayres and at Rio Janeiro— In consequence of a secret plot, the Portu- 
guese were requested by a party in Buenos-Ayres to occupy the Banda Oriental. 

When the British ministry asked for explanations on this point, (which they 

were probably well acquainted with,) the Portuguese ambassador produced a co- 
py of the written invitation as signed in Buenos-Ayres. — Our Secretary was in an 
extacy in Buenos.Ayres at hearing the word state. He now learns how it is ap- 
plied to enslaved provinces. In short, the embers of discord are constautly stir- 
red in Buenos-Ayres and Chili, as elsewlierc, by British intrigues. 



73 

«If Entre-Rios should have followed the deplorable example, {here is 
no doubt, but it would have been also occupied by the arms of his Most 
Faithful Majesty. These would not have operated on other principles 
than those manifested in taking possession of the Banda Oriental." p. 
39. He insinuates that the people of this territory have deserted 
Artigas. 

"Artigas at the very time he was treating with it, audaciously pro- 
voked the government by circulating the Baltimore-libel with comments 
among the people, by which he endeavored to discredit the present ad- 
ministration: he unshipped the rudders and detained several merchant 
vessels from this capital that were trading up the ports of the Uru- 
guay; and lastly has declared war against Buenos-Ayres in Colonia 
del Sacramento and other points, disseminating by means of secret 
agents incendiary proclamations to the very bosom of this capital, p. 41. 

In 1810, he (Artigas) warmly recommended the blockading of Bue- 
nos-Ayres, by sending a squadron of gun boats up the Parana to in- 
tercept the passage of troops and other auxiliaries which the capital 
might desire to pass by the Baxada. p. 44. 

"It appears from the same well known diary, that as soon as the pre- 
sident of the supreme executive power arrived at the Little Falls (Salto 
Chico) of Uruguay, in June 1812, and assumed command of the army, 
Artigas one day, before his soldiers tore off the badges of colonel with 
which the government had decorated him, and formally returned the 
president's dispatches, saying that he would have nothing from Buenos- 
Ayres; and thence forward whatever he was to be, should proceed from 
the will of the people. And his performance has even exceeded his 
word." p. 45. 

I supposed sir, that even this invidious profile of an energetic old cam- 
paigner, crayoned out by a foe, might probably afford you some amuse- 
ment. You may perhaps interpret it, like our Secretary's philology, 
quite contrary from the authors' intention — and the linguist and biog- 
rapher be apostrophized together!—* 

"Philologers of future ages, 

How will they pore upon thy pages! 

Nor will they dare to break the joints, 

But help thee to be read with points.- 

Or else, to show their learned labour, you 

May backward be perused like Hebrew, 

In which they need not lose a bit 

Or of thy harmony or wit." 
Instead of honest history, these writers seem to emulate each other in 
pasquinade and satire, and clumsy calumny. Did they hope to be be- 
lieved, when they do not even take the trouble to conceal the hatreds 
and predilections of party-men? 

Perhaps, sir, you do not know, (since grovelling characters are be- 
neath your notice) that this wretched pamphleteer so venal and f uri- 
bund, is an unnatural native ot the Banda Oriental; that, by his defa- 
matory apology for the Portuguese intrusion and abuse of Artigas— 
this abandoned libertine has obtained promotion in the department of 

Jv 



?4 

state under Mr. Tagle. He has combined with conspirators against 
freedom; and fulminates his anathemas against Artigas, because he will 
not enter into the same league. By anarchy he means liberty: by or- 
der — passive obedience to the orders of Buenos-Ayres. And so those 
creatures have their deceitful vocabulary. 

In p. 21, 45, 55, he accuses general Artigas of actingin concert with 
the Spaniards! A sham plot, to excuse a real one! A stronger rea- 
son for the denunciation is explained by the following, at p. 20: 

"We have seen that he (Artigas) revolutionized the provinces of 
Entre-Rios and Corrientes; that he passed the Parana^ and spread dis- 
affection to Santa-Fe, Cordova, and Santiago del Estero." 

His exhortation is not directed against the Portuguese, but against 
the champion of independence: — 

"To arms, to arms, ye rational beings, against this new-Carib, the 
destroyer of the human race." p. 66. 

If enough has not fallen from their own lips to condemn the antago- 
nists of Artigas, I promise you not to leave the matter much longer 
doubtful — if I am blessed with life and leisure. — Philosophers advise 
us that "the surest of all sure things is to doubt" (de las cosas mas se- 
guras, la mas segura es dudar:*) and the maxim is safe and certain: for, 
he who suspends his judgment will not be mistaken. But, mankind 
incline to the opposite and positive extreme; and from impatience or 
indolence, will rather make up an opinion without evidence, or with 
insufficient grounds than remain in a negative undecided state. — If you 
encounter a moral certainty in the sum of all these observations and 
citations, you will not hug suspense. I assure you, again and again, 
that I wish not to trepan you into a decision. Love of truth and sound 
policy,— or indignation at the violation of both, compelled me to un- 
sheath my quiet goose-quill.— If this episode is of no other service, it 
will amuse you by a transition from things to persons. 

Whether we consider the principles and popularity of general Arti- 
gas, or the conduct of his adversaries, I think you will not only pro- 
nounce our Secretary guilty of rashness and injustice in siding with 
one of the parties, but conclude that he may possiblv expose the Uni- 
ted States to serious injuries in their relations with one of the most 
important sections of that country. Such are the provinces under Ar- 
tigas. You are aware how the British government through its agents, 
has opened and preserves commercial intercourse with that general. 
Far from treating him as a barbarian or a rebel, they were prudent 
enough to stipulate with him for a free trade. Suppose— that general 
meets with the "elegant extracts" from this voyage which are to adorn 
the governmental prints of Buenos-Ayres; wnat will be his feelings 
under such indecorous abuse from the Secretary of our Missinn? He 
might infer from the title, that its publication was countenanced by our 
government. "What is he to think when he perceives that all the cal- 
umnies invented by his enemies at Buenos-Ayres are re-echoed and 
extended by a man ostensibly acting under the orders of this adminis- 

*A remark of D. Pedro Montengon, the author of "El Eusebio," a work I have 
not seen- ; but have lit on this quotation from it. 



7* 

tration? Is this conduct calculated to attach general Artigas to the 
United States? — Is it consistent with the object of the mission to con- 
vert the republicans of that quarter into enemies; since the usurpers 
are naturally inimical to us? — Our commissioner's reports answer No! 
The refractory Secretary has written for one side, ---not to promote the 
present or future interests of the United States. He may gain a disho- 
norable popularity with the leaders of a faction, serviceable to him 
if he intend to emigrate from the United States. I will not question 
his superh r fitness for a country where character and virtue are assail- 
ed without scruple.— If the Secretary had had any facts of a delicate 
nature to communicate, he might have done it silently. It was not 
wise nor honest to attempt provoking the ill-will of a man so influen- 
tial as general Artigas, toward the citizens of this country. If resent- 
ment is in proportion to wrong, his may only be measured by the ma- 
lice of his calumniator. — Things worthless in themselves may be high- 
ly noxious and pernicious to others. — The viper and coral-snakes are 
useless in creation— but their bite often proves mortal in five minutes. 

How different are the portraits of this chieftain, as drawn by honor- 
able or more impartial men! Mr. Rodney affirms, on the authority of 
"persons entitled to credit," that general Artigas is a "firm friend to 
the independence of his country;" thathe is "unquestionably a man of 
rare and singular talents"— The "animated letter" to Puerreydon, an- 
nexed to his Report, is a pretty convincing proof of his ability. (See 
Rodney's Report, p. 26 and documents.) 

Dean Funes, now arrayed against him, speaks of Artigas as "that 
singular man, who unites keen sensibility to a temper apparently 
phlegmatic, an insinuating simplicity to a polite and stately gravity; 
an intrepid frankness to a complaisant familiarity;" &c. He equally 
extols his ardent patriotism, but adds sufficient shading to render the 
likeness tolerable in Buenos-Ayres. See torn. iii. page 522. 

Other incidents evince his good sense and modesty: — "General Ar- 
tigas returned to the commissioner de cruzada, at Buenos-Ayres, his 
bulls (which bad been offered for sale] saying, his people wanted arms, 
not bulls."* He would not allow of comparisons with Washington. 
Would to God! said he, that we had but Washington's little finger 
among us; and our dissensions and errors would soon vanish. 



* See Pazos' Letters, page 89. "This fair of bulls, or indulgences, (says he) 
which is a branch of public revenue, has in latter times fallen into contempt in 
Buenos-Ayres, and been abolished; the people of that city, who ten years ago be- 
lieved in their efficacy, now laugh at the imposture." — This is an excellent symp- 
tom; it augurs a remarkable revival of reason when a gentleman educated a cler- 
gyman, writes in the style of Mr. Pazos. — He attributes the principal vices of so- 
ciety to the celibacy and the debauchery of the priests The present faction of 
Uuenos-Ayres, contrary to the spirit of reformation, uphold the clergy in their 
immunities, and employ them as powerful political machines. 

Page 15, Mr. Pazos remarks, that the abuse of the expedient of confession was 
productive of great debasement on one side, and irresistible influence on the 
other. "These disciples of Loyola, (the Jesuits) being possessed of the c6nfea- 
sionals, and by this means of the most secret thoughts of the people, — and avail- 
ing themselves of their pretended Divine authority, it is easy to conceive that no- 



76 

Traits like these refute mercenary tales.— The calumniators have 
our commissioners' Reports against them; they have the overtures and 
arts of Buenos-Ayres and Spain against them; they have his extraordi- 
nary popularity against them; all of which are tests of talent, or evi- 
dence of reputation. 

Among the "names of the gallant chiefs, who have so heroically led 
to the field of glory an undisciplined and inexperienced multitude to 
resist the incroachments of foreign tyrants, and that will be transmit- 
ted with honor to posterity;'"' among these, says Pazos, "general Ri- 
vera and Don Jose Artigas must have the most splendid pages" ot his- 
tory allotted to them: — "Don Jose Artigas, that extraordinary 

" MAN, WHOM NATURE HAS SO PRODIGALLY GIFTED WITH GENIUS, 

" and who has so gloriously sustained himself and his country, amidst 
" the convulsions of intestine war, and the conflicting passions of the 
" human heart; who has been the stable rock of the ocean, against which 
"the ambitious billows of the Brazilian cabinet have beat in vain, and 
" whose important services to his country must command the gratitude 
li of his compatriots and the admiration of the world."— 

This is the testimony of a man who knows both Artigas and his ene- 
mies; "and his record is true." Whence is it that the "learned" Sec- 
retary explodes statements so manifestly authentic? Did he translate 
them and adopt the version?— On that ground only can he be acquitted 
of malice prepense. He is fully entitled to plead his erudition in 
extenuation.— But, we must arraign him on other counts, I fear, 

"Besides his nonsense in translating 
For want of accidence and Latin." 

The "Censor" of Buenos-Ayres with all the government-prints hav- 
ing raised a hue and cry against the political doctrines of Artigas, it is 
natural to enquire for a specimen of their own. In the Censor of Fe- 
bruary 12th, 1818, extracts of Carnofs Memoir of 1814 are published, 
with comments. "Carnot, (says the writer) does not defend the dan- 
gerous doctrine of tyrannicide, and says that it is, with grief he 
is compelled to make these horrible citations." 

"Perfect equality does not exist in nature, and is regarded general- 
ly as a chimerical system." 

This is enough, I imagine, to exhibit the monarchical commodity. 
Perfect equality of right to the laws was never reputed "chimerical" 
except by the enemies of civil liberty. Political equality is the perfec- 



thing could be concealed from them, and that no scheme could be projected 
among the people which they could, not turn to their advantage. And here I 
cannot but remark that a system of religion which obliges its professors to act as 
self-accusers, and to regard th'e councils and doctrines of their priests as oracles 
of Heaven, is without doubt the most patent engine of despotism ever devised. 
This moral power, superior in itself to the armies of kings, was of unimaginable 
force when wielded by the Jesuits." 

Superstition is debilitated by the phlebotomy of the revolution; it is now a 
mild mechanical custom rather than a religious frenzy. — Except among the gross- 
ly ignorant, there is less fanaticism by far in South America than in our own coun- 
try. 



77 

tion of governments,— which indeed are a blessing or curse as they con- 
tain or lack this vital principle. 

How fortunate that there is an Artigas to expose the rottenness 
and resist the dictation of a Buenos-Ayrean party who combine all the 
essences of British, Portuguese, and native intrigue! To his glorious 
resistance we may justly apply the panegyric of Ercilla on Lautaro. 
The one was no less the rallying point of patriotism than the other: 

Though Rome exulting give the Decian name 
With their sad off 'ring, to eternal fame; 
Tho' Curtius pass'cl the gloomy gulph below, 
And Mutius' burning hand amazed the foe; 
Though Codes long maintain'd the bloody post, 
And with his single arm repell'd a host; 
Though in the pass Leonidas was seen, 
Tinging with Median gore the fatal green; 
Since first the world was shook by war's alarms 
A greater ne'er was known in deeds of arms. 
Let Furius with Mareellus join his claim; 
Fulvius and Quintus with the Sergian name; 
Say of these famous chiefs can one exceed 
Or match this patriot chieftain's brilliant deed?— 

Many there are who with a brave disdain 
Face all the perils of the deathful plain; 
Who fir'd by hopes of glory, nobly dare, 
Yet fail the stroke of adverse chance to bear; 
With animated fire their spirit shines, 
Till the short splendor of their day declines; 
But all their valour, all their strength expires 
When fickle Fortune from their side retires. 
The brave Jlrtigas, when the die was cast, 
War's dire decree against the country past, 
Made the stern Power the finish' d cause resume 
And finally reverse the cruel doom; 
By manly efforts in the dread debate 
Forc'd the determin'd will of adverse fate. J ' 

His enemies hoped to crush him by letting in the Portuguese; but he 
has sometimes letreated into the very pampas of Buenos-Ayres and 
Santa-Fe, when pressed by a superior force in the Banda or Entre Rios. 
— He moves and wheels whithersoever he pleases, — now acting offen- 
sively, now defensively. The name of his Montaneros is a terror 
even in Chili; and, the usurpers who are harassing that country by re- 
quisitions, and creating three orders of nobility, to be endowed with 
plundered estates, look towards the Andes— lest Artigas should come 
and enter a protest against them with his lance. 

It never occurred to our Secretary (why did it not?) to enquire of 
any of his Buenos-Ayrean visitors, or of "mine hostess of the garter," the 
causes of the trastornos which so often harrassed the patriots, and shiv- 
ered the best institutions founded by the fathers of the revolution. Did 
he foresee, that no answer could be returned to such interrogatory 
without implicating the "men in power?" Their party having occa- 
sioned all the excesses,;confusion and'cruelties, which afflict the coun- 
try, and nullify the labours of the republicans.— He never asked how 



it came to pass, that a ministerial editor (Antonio Valdez) who mana- 
ged two government-presses, was rewarded by a mission from Puer- 
reydon to Europe, for his philippics against republican government 
and his vindication of monarchy; while the editor and others who an- 
swered him, were banished: He never reflected that the Censor and 
Gazette were supported by government; and that a newspaper cannot 
(at present) find sufficient patronage from the community to defray the 
expenses of its establishment. Disbursements must be made by a party, 
or by the government. — The law which secured the freedom of the press 
behind trial by jury was rendered a dead letter and openly violated by 
the "men in power." They would not tolerate argument. — To justify 
this arbitrary restriction, their writers inveigh against the licentious- 
ness of the press in England, France and the United States. "The 
Tom Paines, the Holcrofts, the Thelwalls, the Cobbetts in England; 
and in France the Brissots, the Petions, the Robespierres, les ecriva- 
niers de la violette, disseminate their daily journals and libels to excite 
the rabble (el populacho) to anarchy." (See El Americano of Bue- 
nos-Ay res.) — Of the condition of the newspaper press in the United 
States, the editor of the Censor, &c. had spoken with supreme con- 
tempt; and we must acknowledge with some reason — but a reason very 
different from the one he assigned. 

Had the Secretary here turned his inquiring eyes in this direction, 
perhaps I should not have been compelled to pull the visor from him- 
self or his work — He would have discerned the object of the "men in 
power," by their efforts to conceal it. He would have learned that 
while some of them were oscillating between an incorporation with 
Brazil under a monarchical form, and others preferred the sacrifice of 
the Banda Oriental and the creation of a new dynasty in Buenos- 
Ayres, — the whole party were unanimous in deriding republican gov- 
ernment. — To effect this purpose, democracy was painted in hideous 
shapes and frightful colors; while monarchy was made to appear with 
the blended beauties of Hebe, of Venus, and Minerva. To the trans- 
lation of Bissett's Sketch of Democracy, by C Henriquez, a govern- 
mental editor, is prefixed this dedication; literally translated: — 

"to the sovereign congress. 
"Sir,— The luminous principles, the profound and useful observa- 
tions, comprised in this little tract, embolden me to present it to the 
hands of those on whom depend the destinies of these provinces. 
With the profoundest respect, I am &c. &c. 

C. H'z." 

In his Advertisement he says, "the author (of this interesting valu- 
able work") knew how to combine abstruse philosophy with truth of 
narrative. — The nature of the treatise requires a deliberate reading, 
and a calm, temperate, and circumspect judgment." 

But the moderation recommended, was only on one side, and on pa- 
per. Monarchy was to be admitted by an open avenue smoothed by 
the pressure of a political roller; and its opposers squashed under 
ground. In the dialogue described between Tagle and Puerreydon, 
the former animates the drooping spirit of the latter: 



7a 

" Tagle— Have you forgotten San Martin's plan — drive out of the 
country, or out of the world, every man ot worth and ability who can 
bring us into discredit by directing public opinion Where should we 
now be, if this balsamic measure had not relieved us from the canaille, 
who wander in foreign lands or quietly repose in the dust of the tomb? 
One of the methods (and beyond all doubt the surest) to subjugate the 
people, is, to sacrifice the part who think in order to retain the por- 
tion who only vegetate. To retreat is imprudent: we must command, 
be the means what they may: to promote this purpose we possess the 
moral influence of the Grand Lodge,* and the physical force of bayonets 
without counting on the cowardly stupidity of the people. 

I am not possessed, more than yourself my venerable friend, — of 
that charitable apathy which like our Secretary's, could chant. — 

"Be to such faults a little felind." 

nor could I as a citizen of these United States look with pleasure on 
monarchies springing up all around us on this continent. 

Had the Secretary but perused the history of Buenos- Ayrean. in- 
trigues with the slightest attention, he might have extracted a little ta- 
ble from it illustrative of the motives of the ruling faction.-- Why he shut 
his own eyes or would blind others,' he best knows! But, it we should 
rejoice at the servitude and disabilities of Brazil, as our author inti- 
mates, we ought, for the like reason to invoke tyranny to seize domi- 
nion every where else. Let all be degraded and manacled, lest they 
rival us! Let us monopolize air and light, and freedom and — the tobac- 
co or cotton market! How base, abrupt and stupendous a descent 

some creatures make from principles to — pelf! 

Their previous acts however are mildness — beneficence itself, in com- 
parison of their subsequent ones. By clearing away as much of the 
voyager's rubbish as possible in this letter, we shall secure a better 
foundation for historical investigation in the sequel. 

Every one will admit, that honor and confidence are the natural re- 
ward of patriotism. Among an incorrupt people it is ever so. — They 
are never ungrateful, though they may mistake friends for enemies 
sometimes; as the most honest are most liable to be deceived by cun- 
ning. I am enabled to supply the Secretary's omission from a manu- 
script commentary on Funes's History and on the exculpatory publica- 
tions uf the party at Buenos-Ayres. Independently of this, their own 
statements condemn them.- — We behold at one view the fate of those 



*A combination or factious club formed at Buenos-Ayres by San Martin, — af- 
ter the fashion probably of Orange Lodges and other intolerant cabals in England 
and Ireland. There being a silly religious prejudice against ii-eemasons among 
Spaniards, &.c. a foolish and unwarrantable attempt has been made to confound 
one with the other, — the good with the bad, and light with darkness. — This ex- 
planation would be due to truth alone, were the honor of the fraternity not of the 
utmost concern to the humblest brother. 

The appellation given to this association by its founders, is "Patriotic Society, or 
Friends of the Country;" — and is a governmental machine, for arraying individual 
against public interests. It is enumerated among the public institutions \, by Mr. 
secretary Tagle's communication marked J), in page 109 of Rodney and Graham's 
Report, 



80 

citizens who effected the revolution, or composed the first congress of 
La Plata. — You will perceive traits of ingratitude and violence from 
which our revolution was in general exempt. The first column is ta- 
ken from Funes, who could not conceal facts in this case, although he 
often evades truth or violates it. 



Who planned and executed 

the revolution of 1810. 
Dr. Juan Jose Castelli; 

Manuel Belgrano; 

Feliciano Chiclana; 
Juan Jose Paso; 
Hipolito Vieytes; 
Nicolas Pena; 
Jose Darragueyra; 

Francisco Paso; 
Florencio Terrada; 
Martin Thompson; 

Dr. Ramon Vieytes; 
Juan Ramon Balcavce; 
Jintonio Luis Beruti; 
Martin Rodriguez; 
Jlugustin Donado; 



Matias Iregoyen; 



£ Their fate and fortune. 

Died in prison at Buenos-Ayres eleven 
months after. 

General in the army, arrested until he 
came to terms.* 

Just returned from exile. 

Often disgraced but now in office. 

Died under arrest at Buenos-Ayres. 

Disgraced and banished. 

Once exiled, but died subsequently at 
Buenos-Ayres. 

Once exiled, now lives in private, [ter. 

In the army; saved by his want of charac- 

Late agent for Puerreydon in the Uni- 
ted States, (insane.) 

Was exiled, and lost his health. 

In the army. 

After being exiled is tolerated in the army. 

Lives privately. 

After exile, lives privately at Buenos- 
Ayres. 

In office. 



FIRST CONGRESS of 1810. 

Jose Jintonio Olmos, 
Fr. Jintonio Ocampos, 
Dr. Manuel J. Molina, 



all dismiss- 



Dr. Francis Turragona, 

Jose Garcia Cosio, 

Frdncisco Garruchaga, 

Dr. Manuel Felipe Molina, 

Juan Ignacio Gorrito, Marcellino Foblet, 

Dr. Jose Julian Perez (now insane) Gregorio Funes. 

Second Congress, } Deposed and imprisoned in 1815, by the 
in 1813, 5 present ruling party. 



Jose Ignacio Marradona, f e W1 1S " 
j grace. 



D. Cornelio Saavedra 
D. Juan Jose Castelli; 
Manuel Belgrano;* 
Miguel Azcuenaga; 
Dr. Manuel Mberti; 
Domingo Mattieu; 
Juan Larrea; 
Dr. Mariano Moreno; 
Juan Jose Paso; 



FIRST EXECUTIVE, 

Arrested and exiled. 

(As above.) Died in prison. 

lit supra. 

No character. 

Died, broken-hearted. 

Disgraced. 

Banished. 

Died at sea a victim to ingratitude. 

Often disgraced. 



8t 

Only the indifferent, or those who joined the league against the peo- 
ple, it seems, could escape proscription. 

Mr. Graham, who writes very circumspectly,"observes, p. 39. that 
"great allowances are doubtless to be made for the circumstances of the 
times, and the danger and difficulty of tearing up ancient institutions, 
or of adapting new principles to them. But after due allowance for all 
these considerations, it did not appear to me that so much has been, 
done for the cause of civil liberty, as might have been expected, or that 
those in power were its strongest advocates.^ 

I would unite our South-American brothers on the ground of prin- 
ciple: /would admonish them to beware of "wolves in sheeps' cloth- 
ing," who enjoin concord only to extinguish opinion; who preach up 
charity only to screen offenders from stripes, or usurpers from expo- 
sure. — I begin to hope, that the people of La Plata will learn to distin- 
guish their friends from their enemies: I am consoled in the belief that 
our government will act with liberality and wisdom. — The expedition 
of the chivalrous Bolivar, — the devotion of the Granadiansto the cause, 
•—the prudence of the Venezolanian congress, deserve our friendship, 
and will receive it. If we have not aided, let us applaud. I know not 
why we should be backward in acknowledging the republics of Venezu- 
ela and New-Grenada: their independence is sure as their union. — 
Collisions and domestic oppression in La Plata and Chili would seem 
to claim a prudent pause and an affectionate mediation.— Weigh these 
suggestions, my good friend, and, if you pronounce me in error, I 
shall implicitly bow to the award of your unclouded judgment: but, if 
you approve, an unthinking crowd may condemn in welcome. 

And to you, my worshipful "Secretary!" if in detection of your ma- 
licious misrepresentation, [ have sometimes sunk into asperity, (against 
my intention of not exceeding the ridicule due to vice,) I shall now take 
my final leave of you, — but not of the subject, — ana address a piece 
of solemn advice more worthy of your hearty assent than all the pre- 
cedents your tribe ever quoted.— 'Tis filched, if I must confess it, from 
the 8th Satire of one Juvenal, who made some noise in corrupt, impe- 
rial Rome, and was no less severe against vice than your worship 
against virtue. To save you from the arduous trouble of construing the 
original, I accept an exquisite version by an able hand: — 

Be a good citizen, an upright judge, 

A guardian incorrupt. It" ever call'd 

To give thy witness in a doubtful case, 

Though. Phalaris himself should bid thee lie, 

On pain of torture in his flaming bull, 

Disdain to barter innocence for life; 

To which life owes its lustre and its worth. 

You may perhaps fiee to reformation when your poison is neutrali- 
zed, and calumny unsaleable. Your power to do mischief being at an 
end, you may as well resign the will also.— -Even could you escape 
now, — were there no idler to occupy himself in refuting you, still you 
would one day or other be obliged to settle accounts with yourself. 

T have here, Mr. Secretary, detected a. few of your faults<-hut who 



82 

can animadvert on the tythe of them in a single letter? I have noted 
in your book upwards of one hundred and twenty malicious fictions, 
contradictions, or misrepresentations: Let samples of the teculent 
mass suffice. As I shall not for the future descend from the elevation 
of historical narrative to expose your particular iniquities and gross 
impostures, I shall now remind you of the awful ruin that awaits you. 
You were obscure; you courted publicity; but you forsook the path of 
honor, and must forever be consigned to disgrace — unless you public- 
ly abjure your calumnies, reform your conduct, and implore forgive- 
ness. — One or two cases more, and I dismiss you: 

In one passage, (page 207, vol. II.) you insinuate, that there was no 
trial by jury to protect the press at La Plata; and this was your in- 
tended shield for Puerreydon, who had banished republican citizens 
for resorting to the press to refute monarchical doctrines, — overlook- 
ing the important fact that jury-trial was introduced for the very pur- 
pose, — and disregarding the assertion of the trial and acquittal of the 
party, — though published in this city long before your departure from 
Baltimore. Did you suppress the incident by design; or did you ne- 
ver learn an occurrence so notorious? Take your choice. 

Did you, — [to select one case from a hundred) did you stifle the cir- 
cumstance of the Banda Oriental sending delegates to the constituent 
congress called in 1813, — who were rejected because they claimed their 
seats on an equal federal principle? Were you ignorant of this fact, or 
did you smother it, to justify the men who dissolved that congress tumul- 
tously and packed another? — Take your choice again. 

You insinuate that arbitrary measures were justifiable in some cases 
to prevent revolutionary excesses, (page 17, vol. II;) and when despo- 
tic and sanguinary excesses were perpetrated by the "men in power," 
you ridicule dean Funes's regret as a weakness. You boldly insist, that 
such "scenes" are "necessary," inseparable consequences of all revo- 
lutions: (page 10, 11, vol. II.) — You hint, that the clergy are timid po- 
liticians; which certainly was not their character formerly, when they 
trod on necks, kicked oft'erowns, and excommunicated whole nations. If 
the American clergy are timid politicians, we cannot say as much in 
vindication of the lawyers, who have in a great measure overthrown 
the constitution, and reversed the great principles of the American re- 
volution. — The Popes in the plenitude of their power, did not main- 
tain doctrines more monstrous or alarming than are now asserted as in- 
disputable conons by some of the lawyer-tribe. In fact, they have vault- 
ed overevery constitutional barrier and ^'superseded the sovereignty itself 
by one of its creatures."* So completely too are the people sophisticated, 
or so supine are they under invasion, that political blasphemy is now 
uttered by great lawyers as orthodox tenets. — Thjs order is the more 



•See Taylor's Inquiry, page 532; but the -whole treatise ought to be in every hand. 

Doctrine worthy of Constantinople, where law and religion are prescribed in 
the same code, — is often heard in our courts and legislatures. Present error 
or usurpation is fortified in past folly or corruption. It has been once done, and 
the people have acquiesced in it: — The "authority" of this example is paramount, 
obligatory, irreversible. It is not even open for examination! — Where this law- 



83 

dangerous, as the habit of sophistry saps the judgment and extinguish- 
es the moral sense. Accustomed to petty, minute constructive squab- 
bles, the mind loses its expansive capacity as the eye its power of dila- 
tation; and when a great subject is to be discussed, an ordinary lawyer 
cannot take a comprehensive view of it: When it is to be contemplated 
fairly and directly, the pettifogger can only look at it obliquely. Thus 
he contracts his mind to a mere point; and people preposterously rely 
on them as oracles who are incapable of forming a solid rational opin- 
ion. Thus, two third* of the calamities iviiich gall the nation, (and 
which menace the extinction of civil liberty) proceed from the silly 
fashion of electing lawyers for legislators. People forget that the Hen- 
rys and Jejfersons, the Emmets and Blands, appear but seldom.— It 
would be less mireasonable to select our naval and military officers, 
sailors and soldiers from the pacific, non-combatant [but, I admit, re- 
spectable] quakers, than to fill legislative offices with lawyers.— And, 
for the same reason, as all encroachments are to be apprehended from 
the executive and judicial parts of a government, the lawyers (from 
their habits and esprit de, corps) are the most unfit beings to resist them. 
Indeed, they justify them all round.— In speaking, however, against 
the political* operation of the profession, I do not mean to deny the 
private worth of many of the order. Our "Secretary," I fear, is an 
exception from the remark. Rut, that is out of our jurisdiction. 

You, Mr. '"Secretary," cite the "Outline of the Revolution," in re- 
lation to Chili, particularly; and that very part is unworthy of credit. 
It is, you well know, the splenetic fabrication of Jonte and Vrrisari, 
personal and political enemies of the republican leaders, especially of 
the Carreras. (I do not embrace the rest of the book in this remark, 
communicated by different deputies, &c. in London.)— -When the ad- 
verse party, L and Co. had surrendered the country in 1814, to 

the royalist Gainza, the Carreras were excepted from the benefit of the 



g-ibl/erish is listened to With patience, the people are already half bent to the yoke. 
The practice of resigning' our own judgment to the authority of others must 
speedily terminate in slavery, because it engenders slavish habits. Having yielded 
in one instance, people blindly succumb in every other; studious only of finding an 
example for it! A more fruitful hot-bed for rearing sycophants could not be im- 
agined. The devotees to precedent are dangerous partizans of power in a coun- 
try that has (of late) too closely mimicked all the judicial, mercantile, and aris- 
tocratical trumpery of England — her party-idols, her monopolies in banks and 
funds, — her stock-jobbing and patronage. In tact, we have in operation much 
apparatus for "infusing aristocracy into the policy of the United States." At 
Athens, such a system of education for debauching the mind, wovdd have been 
suppressed. Encouraged longer here, it will suppress every trace of manly re- 
publican sentiment. As worms in a putrid body, so are these satellites in a state. 
Their number and inlluence in one case as in the other are direct evidence of the 
degree of putrefaction. Well might Taylor exclaim: "Oh! America, America, 
thou art. the truly begotten of John Bull !" — The principles, the simple theory of 
our government have been forgotten. — We had cast ourselves loose from Britain; 
but, the lawyers have again towed us along side, by judiciary aid and juridical 
tow-ropes. 



81 

base treaty.* They escaped from their dungeons, and their presence 
was enough to rouse the people; yet, on the recovery of the capital, 
Frrisari, though guilty of collusion with the royalists, was magnani- 
mously pardoned by general J. M. de Carrera, but in a contemptuous 
manner. This generosity he returned (as you requited every act of the 
same kind) by bitter calumny and black ingratitude. He is now am- 
bassador in London, and Jonte holds a law-office, connected with the 
admiralty, or lord Cochrane's squadron. It is not to forestall the his- 
tory of Chilian affairs, that I advert to this matter here, but to bring 
you on the carpet once more as a lawyer and judge! — To palliate the 
connivance of Buenos-Ayres at the dismemberment of the territory of 
La Plata, you retail a conversation, (or invent it) to show, that "it was 
a private and local war between Artigas and the Portuguese."— We 
supposed that the right of private war had ceased some centuries ago. 

Another instance of your mode of judging by evidence is more cu- 
rious; when you speak of Artigas, for example, page 25, vol. II. — 
"As to his refusing a bribe, I thought it rather an equivocal evidence 
of integrity '." I believe you are the only person who could make such 
a decision. 

When the count de Casa-Flores, (Spanish ambassador) sent an offi- 
cer from Rio-Janeiro, last summer, with flattering overtures from the 
king of Spain, Artigas read the dispatches with stern indignation, and 
ordered the bearer to instant execution. Was this also "equivocal 
evidence of integrity?" 

In the preceding page also, you make up your judgment against the 
testimony:— "They said that he [Artigas] was a plain old man, with no 
show or parade; that he has no riches, and indulges himself in none of 
the luxuries or ornaments with which men are generally pleased; that 
he is the true friend of independence, and the genuine lover of liberty; 
that the Spaniards offered him a brigadier's commission, which he re- 
fused. They also said much of his good intentions, and keen discri- 
minating mind." — Had we met with this portrait in Roman story, we 
should have associated with it the image of Junius Brutus, Fabricius 
or Cincinnatus. We should never have inferred that the rigid repub- 
lican was a disobedient savage. Our Secretary and "judge in Louis- 
iana" treats the evidence very differently: "What they urged in his 
behalf only increased the unfavorable opinion I had begun to entertain." 
Oh! rare. A second Daniel come to judgment! 

If the "men in power" had been drawn in such colors, — instead of 
a philippic against Paine "in the literal sense" he would have run a 
descant on their simple lives and unostentatious manners. Paine would 
have been his text-book,— ''French revolutionary principles" would 
have been tolerated, and BisseWs Caricature of Democracy, banished 
to Punta St. Luis, or JVew-Holland.—Pi&y, perhaps it would have been 
burnt, like the murderous proclamation against Artigas, by a public exe- 



*To cover their own treacherous league with Gainza, the Spanish general, in 
1814, proofs of which I possess, the faction have fabricated a Spanish despatch 
which insinuates that the Carreras had surrendered Chili to Spain! Like your 
book, it contradicts itself, and exonerates the Carreras by styling them "rebels.' ' 



So 

cutioner.— Bat, the calculation is for the meridian of Baenos-Jlyres, 
not for that of Purification. At page 26", vol. I. you imbibe your be- 
lief from a skipper, that "San Martin was pre-eminent," &c. How 
facile and credulous in one case! and how fastidious in the other! Your 
''rules of evidence" are all your own. 

I would dissuade you from misrepresentation, Mr. Secretary,— -if 
not too late. — You would probably insist on the beauty of fiction, as of 
indispensible utility in the moral world. Panurge could hardly be re- 
claimed from his predilection for borrowing; and affirmed, as you know, 
that borrowing and lending cemented society in the utmost harmony; 
that the custom was one of the harmonies of nature and morals; that 
without this accommodation the world would be surrendered to "rap- 
parees, assassinators, haters, poisoners, &c." In short, it would be an 
easier task to have fish entertained in the air, and bullocks fed in the 
bottom of the ocean, than to support or tolerate a rascally rabble of 
people who would not lend. — He was aware, that the debtor has no will 
but that of the creditor; which greatly promotes social concord, and 
confirms the glorious policy of unconstitutional banks in a. republican 
land !* When a superior power laid his commands on hiln to get 
out of debt, he acknowledged the goodness and munificence of his lord 
and patron, but protested against the hardship of the injunction: "for 
henceforth, being quiet and out of debt, (says Panurge) what coun- 
tenance shall I be able to keep? — You may imagine that it will be- 
come me very ill for the first month; because I have never hitherto 
been brought up or accustomed to it, I am very much afraid of it. — 
Furthermore, there shall not be one hereafter, native of the country 
of Salmigondy, but he shall level the shot towards my nose. — My life 
will be of very short continuance, I do foresee it. I recommend to 
you the making of my epitaph."— Try the experiment, at any rate, 
Mr. Secretary, with regard to misreDresentation. — Inveterate, usage 
may be irremediable in personal as in juridical cases; though we de- 
ny that it ought to be law in any case. 

Were it possible to obtain forgiveness for your misrepresentations of 
fact, or your defence of the parricides of liberty; were it possible to 
reconcile the public to your attacks on the republican party ot Chili 
and Buenos-Ayres,— there is another trespass in the account against 
you, which is unpardonable: What is that? Your endeavor to deprive 
some of the republican exiles from Buenos-Ayres, of the benefits of 
our hospitality — of that holy law of sympathy and charity, which the 
very Arab holds sacred.— His necessities in a strange land, friendless 
and moneyless, compelled one of them to return and risk the chance 
of death there — having no means of living here.— He was seized in the 
river, put in irons, and imprisoned for many weeks on board a ship; 



* A young merchant in a neighboring- city refused to suSer his clerk to carry a 
check to a bank, drawn by another merchant, although but a few dollars of it were 
required in specie, and the rest in paper. In such dread did the people stand of 

the bank-directors. — Let send his artm clerk, said he, if he wants sraciE ! We 

can't risk it. 



86 

when he finally yielded to a bargain to support the measures of Puer- 
reydon, and was qualified by thus passing under the yoke for manag- 
ing one of the government presses.— This outrage on one side, and hu- 
miliation on the other, corroborate the tyrannous character of Puerrey- 
don's government: — When the usurpers so treacherously defeated Car- 
rera's expedition, and prohibited his return to his native land, even 
then they proffered him a salary of §10,000, provided he should con- 
nive at their usurpation, and banish himself to the United States, as 
their ambassador! — He spurned the insulting overture, and was in- 
stantly proscribed as a traitor — (against the majesty of usurpers) — 
his friends put to death, and his country enslaved.— What excuse do 
we find here, for steeling our hearts against persecuted men? Why 
should we be proof against commisseration, because a sanguinary party 
in a foreign country have made victims?— -Yet you have recommended 
such churlishness in some of the papers of Baltimore! You would 
have us imitate the demi-savageness of that inhospitable region, 

— where the rude Carinthian boor 



Against the houseless stranger shuts the door.' 

Herein you were blind as well as malicious; because, you might have 
received important information from some of those worthy men, — who 
are as remarkable for a correct deportment as for studious habits,— 
Their acquirements are the fruit of deep and diligent research. — Rely 
upon it! that your ruthless conduct towards the exiles will embitter 
your own cup, when detection will expel you from honorable society. 
Had you nothing in view but to gratify their persecutors? 

I. read your work with a charitable disposition: — Aware of human 
imperfections, I was determined to make all possible allowance for er- 
rors; — but I was soon obliged to witness your depravity — and the pe- 
rusal of your book resembled the moral dissection described as a phy- 
sical one, by the immortal author of the Tale of a Tub! — "Yesterday, 
I ordered the carcase of a beau to be stripped in my presence, when 
we were all amazed to find so many unsuspected faults under one suit 
of clothes. Then I laid open his brain, his heart, and his spleen: but, 
I plainly perceived, at every operation, that the farther we proceeded, 
we found the defects increase upon us in number and bulk." 

If you, my indulgent friend, forgive my prolixity for this time, I 
promise as unfeignedly as any repenting sinner, never more to trespass 
above half so long" on your bland, Uncle-Tobian temper. 
— With a sketch of the composition and characteristic proceedings 
of the congress (as it is called,) I shall finish my tiresome letter and 
your present trouble. 

The 25th May 1810 is always given as the commencement of the re- 
volution in the late viceroyalty of Buenos-Ayres; it is therefore of im- 
portance that the political principles and objects of this commencement 
should be carefully noted. — The Buenos-Ayreans designate it: "as the 
day on which the people of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Pla- 
ta, were, by a singular providence, delivered from the slavery which 
the Americans had suffered for threejhundred years, and as the day of the 



87 

political regeneration of those provinces, by the free use of the rights 
of man, of which they had been despotically deprived by the Spaniards 
since the conquest of both Americas."—- On which it may be observed, 
that the people had then only determined to disengage themselves from 
the bonds of slavery, and to commence the work of political regenera- 
tion, but that no determination was taken (whatever was the intention 
of the leaders) to renounce all further connexion with the Peninsula.— 
This final step was not conclusively resolved on and published until the 
9th July 1816.— Hence it would seem, that during the first six years ot 
the revolution, the nature, forms, and principles of self-government 
were not fully and freely canvassed or tried by the leading men; be- 
cause they had not then openly determined on the establishment of ab- 
solute independence; and therefore their actions and conduct in this in- 
terval ought to be viewed with many allowances, and cannot be consi- 
dered as aifording such decisive evidence of political character, as af- 
terwards, when the minds of all and the opinions of all were openly 
directed towards the establishment of a frame of independent govern- 
ment.* 

It is well recollected, that in our own country, many were suppo- 
sed to be sound patriots uutil the trying epoch of the 4th of July 1776; 
the next refining period of our political men was that of the formation 
of the new constitution, under which we live at present. — And it is 
remarkable that, with very few exceptions, those who were on the side 
of aristocracy on the 4th July 1776, and when the present government 
was framed, have been found ranged on the same side in support of 
aristocratic principles of administration ever since. — It has thus been 
by the declarations and conduct of men in office and their advocates 
out of office on such decisive occasions, that the leading characters 
among us have had their political principles unequivocally developed. 
— Let us then resort to similar acts and epochs, (public and notorious,) 
as tests of the political principles of the present ruling faction at Bue- 
nos-Ayres. — Laying aside therefore all particulars prior to the meeting 
of the congress at Tucuman, and the declaration of absolute independ- 
ence, as equivocal, (if you choose it for illustration's sake) we will be- 
gin from that period to trace the views of the reigning party. 

Dean Funes has given us (torn. S. page 531 in note,) in the sketch 
of the revolution affixed to his History of Buenos-Ayres, a list of the 
members of congress convened at Tucuman on the 25th of March 1816, 
with the names of the provinces, cities, or districts they severally re- 
presented. — In the Report of the commissioners we are in like manner 
told the number of members and the provinces represented in the con- 
gress which sat in Buenos-Ayres in March 1818. From an official do- 



* *Nevertheless, the greatest melioration was effected in the first period of the 
revolution. — A public library and a free press, method, dispatch, and economy in 
the public departments, — not to speak of illustrious examples, and many laudable 
improvements, are indisputable memorials of the ardour, intelligence and patriot- 
ism of Dr. Moreno and his colleagues ■ (See Moreno's Memoirs.) It was the gold- 
en age ef the republic. Much was done for liberty before independence was de- 
clared; more against it, since the declaration of independence. — The causes will 
be carefully traced in my third and fourth letters — to which I reserve the proper 
discussion and relation. 



88 

cument signed by Jose Eugenio de Elias, secretary of congress, and 
dated 31st July, 1819, after the establishment of their permanent con- 
stitution, we are informed of the numbers and places, representing and 
represented in that august body henceforward. From these sources, 
the following comparative view is made out, and submitted to your un- 
biassed judgment: — 



Congress of 1816. 


Congress of 1818 


• 1 


Congress after July IS 19. 


Buenos-Ayres, 


7 


Buenos-Ayres, 


7 


Buenos-Ayres, S 


Cordova, 


5 


Cordova, 


3 


Cordova, 3 


Rioja, 


1 


San Luis, 


1 


Cuyo, 2 


Tucuman. 


2 


Mendoza, 


1 


Tucuman, 5 


Catamarca, 


2 


San Juan, 


1 


Salta, 2 


Santiago del Estero 2 


Rioja, 


1 


Charcas, 3 


Mendoza, 


2 


Catamarca, 


1 


Cochabamba, 2 


San Luis, 


1 


SantiagodelEsterc 


1 


Potosi, 1 


San Juan, 


1 


Tucuman, 


2 






Misque, 


1 


Salta, 


1 


8 Provinces and 21 Re- 


Chuquisaca, 


4 


Jujuy, 


1 


presentatives. 


Cochabamba, 


1 


Potosi, 


1 




Chichas, 


1 


Misque, 


1 




Salta, 


2 


Charcas, 


3 




Jujuy, 


1 


Cochabamba, 


1 




15 Provinces and 


33 


15 Provinces and 26 




Representatives. 




Representatives. 




. 



According toFunes's account of revolutionary events, the royalists 
regained the entire possession of Upper Peru in the year 1813, as far 
as Jujuy* at the eastern foot of the Andes, and have continued in the 
uninterrupted possession of it from that date to this. — So that the pro- 
vinces, or by whatever other name those districts may be designated, 
of Chichas, Potosi, Misque, Charcas, and Cochabamba, which were 
then, and have ever since been in the possession of the royalists, and 
consequently could not within themselves make an election of any sort, 
had in the congress of 1816 seven members, and in that of 1818 six 
members which number they are still allowed to have, notwithstand- 
ing that body has been reduced in numbers from thirty-three to twen- 
ty-one! — 

Can any one doubt that these members, nominally from the districts 
of Upper Peru, are placed in their seats by the chiefs of Buenos-Ayres? 
And is it not evident, that this sham congress is a mere machine in the 
hands of the leaders of Buenos-Ayres, made and unmade by them at 
pleasure?— The object of those military chiefs, it is well known, and 
as it has been manifested by this kind of shifting and packing of con- 
gresses, has been to throw every thing conducive to the establishment 
of the representative system into utter confusion. — Mr. Aguirre, the 
late agent of Buenos-Ayres in this country, as well as Mr. Deforest the 
present agent, have both (I repeat) publicly and frequently declared, 
that a monarchy was the only and proper kind of government suited to 



m 

the people of that country.— Those agents, no doubt, spoke from what 
they knew to be the occult designs of the heads of the Buenos-Ayrean 
faction by whom they were commissioned. — 

Their election was never regular; nor their numbers or term of service 
well regulated. "About half the body are priests, and the citizens of 
Buenos-Ayres seem to be deemed eligible, and suitable to represent 
any province; in consequence of which the church and that city have 
always had their full influence" (See Bland's Report pages 48, 49.) 
—From this "rump parliament" has emanated such a scheme of civil, 
military, and ecclesiastical rule, as might have been expected from a 
kody so constituted. 

ABSTRACT OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

"The constitution of the United Provinces in South America, adopt- 
ed and published by order of the sovereign, general constituent con- 
gress, April 22d 1819," is a strange compound. 

It is arranged in VI. sections, including 138 articles, besides an ap- 
pendix consisting of an extra, dozen. A few of its features will an- 
nounce the political tribe and spirit of the government: — 

Religion of the State. — Section I. The Catholic, Apostolical Romish 
religion is that of the state, which owes it the most effectual and power- 
ful protection. An infraction of this article is regarded as a violation of 
the fundamental laws of the country. 

The Legislative power:— -Is to be vested in a national congress, com- 
posed of two chambers, representatives and senators. 

The house of representatives will be formed of deputies chosen at a 
ratio of one for 25,000 inhabitants, or a fraction equal to 16,000.—- 
Members must possess a property of 4000 dollars at least, or in default 
thereof, an useful art, profession or vocation. They are chosen for 
four years, one half renewable biennially; have the initiative of taxes, 
and imposts, and the exclusive right of impeaching the "members of 
the three great functionaries, ministers of state, envoys to foreign 
courts, archbishops or bishops, generals of the army, governors and su- 
perior judges of provinces, or other officers of equal rank, — for of- 
fences of treason, abuse of trust, malversation of public property, 
breach of the constitution, or other crimes punishable by death or in- 
famy. 

The Senate: — Shall consist of a number of provincial senators equal 
to that of the provinces; three military senators not of a lower grade 
than colonel-major ( ;) a bishop and three 

ecclesiastics; one for each university; and the director of state after 
the completion of his term of office. 

A senator must possess an estate of g8,000, an equivalent income, 
or a profession serviceable to society. The senatorial trust shall last 
for twelve years, one third of the number renewable quadrennially.-— 
An ex-director to hold his seat until replaced by his immediate succes- 
sor in authority. 

Their election or appointment, — Each municipality shall appoint a 

member of their chapter (capitular,) and a proprietor worth g 16,000, 

for electors. These shall assemble at a central point in the province 

designated by the executive power, elect three persons out of the civil 

M 



90 

class, one of whom at least must reside out of the province. When 
the returns of these ternaries are made to the senate, (but for the first 
time to congress,) they will examine the votes, and those who have the 
majority, computing by provinces, shall be senators. If there be not a 
plurality, the senate shall elect them from those proposed. 

Military senators shall be appointed by the director of state. The 
bishop of the diocese resident at the seat of the legislature, shall be 
senator for the first time; for the future, to be elected by the bishops 
of the territory. Ecclesiastical cabildos, &c. will elect three of their 
order, one of whom must belong to a different diocese. 

Both chambers are to assemble in this capital, (Buenos-Ayres) for 
the first time, and afterwards in whatever place they themselves may 
determine; — will hold their sessions in the months of March, April and 
May; September, October and November. 

Article SO. Each chamber may require the attendance of executive 
ministers in their hall, to receive such information as they think proper. 

The general congress enacts laws for the union, decrees war and 
peace, establishes duties, and makes appropriations of imposts, (levied 
equally throughout,) for a term not exceeding two years: fixes the land 
and naval forces during peace; authorises the construction and equip- 
ment of a national marine; receives loans on public resources; creates 
and abolishes offices or employments of every kind, &c. &c. &c. se- 
cures to authors and inventors of useful works, &c. exclusive privi- 
leges for a limited time, and regulates money, weights and measures'. 

Executive power. — The supreme executive power of the nation shall 
be exercised by the person who may be chosen director; who, on his 
installation, takes an oath to comply and enforce compliance with the 
constitution of the state, — to protect the Catholic religion, and pre- 
serve the integrity and independence of the union. — He remains in 
office for five years; is eligible by the two houses in joint meeting, and 
must have a majority (i. e. more than half) of all the votes: is re-eli- 
gible for once by a vote exceeding two third parts of each chamber. He 
enjoys the usual attributions: gives reports, and makes propositions in 
writing to the legislature; appoints and removes public officers; con- 
cludes treaties by the concurrence of the senate; grants letters of ci- 
tizenship according to law, and appoints to all offices not especially 
excepted; names archbishops and bishops on proposals of threes by 
the senate; (a propnesta en terna del senado:) presents to all digni- 
ties, canonries, prebends, and benefices of cathedral and other churches. 

Judicial power.— An Mta Corte, or supreme court, composed of se- 
ven judges and two jiscals, (attorneys-general) shall exercise the su- 
preme judicature of the state. — None can be appointed a member of it 
except a regular barrister of eight years public practice, and 40 years 
old.— [In most respects the organization, jurisdiction, and pay, &c. of 
this court resemble our own.] 

Equal right to protection of property and person, &c. under the laws 
is recognized; and trial by jury is to be established as circumstances 
permit. 

The disposition in favor of personal security cannot be suspended; 
but, when by a remote and extraordinary contingency, which endan- 



gers public tranquility or security, these provisions are impracticable- 
the authorities who find themselves in this fatal necessity, shall im- 
mediately give an account of their conduct to the legislature, who will 
examine the motives of the measure, and the time of its duration. 

Exclusive advantages, distinctions or privileges shall not be granted 
to any man or association, except what may be due to virtue or talent; 
and which, not being transmissible to descendants, new titles of here- 
ditary nobility are forbidden. 

The rights of the Indians are acknowledged, and personal service 
extinguished.— The legislature is to meliorate the condition of the 
aborigines so as to raise them to a level with other classes of the state. 
Introduction of slaves is abolished forever. 

All persons are to swear allegiance to this constitution; an attempt 
against which shall be punished by death or banishment, according to 
the degree of criminality. 

Until the legislature devise and ordain the mode of electing depu- 
ties, the next chamber is to be formed according to the prescription of 
the provisional ordinance. 

The three grand powers collectively shall have the title of Sovereign- 
ty., and Sovereign Sir, in speech or writing. 

The national congress, composed of the two chambers, which consti- 
tute the legislature, will receive that of Most Serene Highness, and 
Serenest Sir. 

Either branch of the legislature, and of the supreme executive and 
judicial powers, severally, shall have the title of Highness only in 
speech or writing: and that of Sir, (Senor) at the beginning of petitions 
and remonstrances addressed to them. 

Ceremonial of seats at every renewal of the representatives, when 
the executive is to open the sessions, is most etiquettically prescribed. 
President and vice-president are to occupy the central seats of the 
front; the senate are to take the right, and the representatives the left: 
next to them, the members of the Alta Corte. 

Insignia.— Senators and representatives in exercise of their official 
duties, will use a plate or 'scutcheon of gold, on the centre of which 
is engraved the motto (\cmn)— Law— bordered with two boughs of 
olive and laurel. 

Senators shall wear dependent from the neck a cordon or chain of 
gold; representatives one of silver, which they may use out of their 
hall or in it. 

Members of the Alta Corte will be clad in the toga or gown, for their 
costume of ceremony; at other times they may use a plate of gold with 
the device of Justice — encircled as above, and pendent from the neck 
a chain of gold and silver mixed. 

This form of constitution is dated at Buenos-Ayres, 22d, and the 
appendix, the 50th of April 1819. Both are signed and countersign- 
ed by Dr. Gregorio Funes, president, and Dr. Josef E. de Elias, sec- 
retary. 

I think I cannot imagine any critique on this rare constitution wor- 
thy of its noble quality, or equal to your penetration. 
The duke was not so scrupulous in decorating Sancho Panza, when 



about to be installed in the government of his island.— The honest 
'squire resisted his court-costume, and vowed he should still be Sancho, 
dress, him as they would. So will it be, I fear, with the dignified sena- 
tors and judges with their chains of gold, their titles, and piintillos; 
"Sovereignty," — Serenity and Sirship — Though bedizzened in the ve- 
ry bon-ton of man-millinery, I suspect that Law and Justice will stick 
on the outside of their breast-plates, or dangle from their buttons, or 
be hanged [if not quartered] on their supreme necks. — With due in- 
dulgence for Hispano-American habits, you will be apt to dscide, that 
this instrument was "conceived in sin and produced in iniquity." 

Was it of this paragon of civil institutes and its effects, that the au- 
thor spoke at p. 97, vol. II. viz. "It is idle to talk of their (the peo- 
ple's) not being able to settle down in a sober and rational govern- 
ment, suited to their situations and exigencies, although it may not 
be exactly like ours?" 

A member of the English house of commons spoke more rationally 
many years since on a motion to repeal the Septennial Act. Sir John 
St. A.ubin says, that "Human nature is so very corrupt that all obliga- 
tions lose their force unless they are frequently renewed." "For this 
reason, short parliaments have been less corrupt than long ones: They 
are observed, like streams of water, al. -ays to grow more impure 

THE GREATER DISTANCE THEY RUN FROM THEIR FOUNTAIN-HEAD." 

I record with pleasure an opinion in point, given by an English gen- 
tleman in Buenos- Ayres to one of our commissioners; and he spoke 
from an intimate knowledge of the cits of Buenos-Ayres, and of the 
population of the country. "What, said he, is the foundation of this 
boastful pretension of townsmen, who can read and write &c. &c. over 
uneducated rustics? — Why do those presume to consider these incapa- 
ble of civil liberty? — What were the barons of England, who controll- 
ed arbitrary kings? — Why, sir, you know that many of them could not 
write their names. — Freedom is a possession too plain and substantial 
to depend exclusively on a few artificial acquirements or accomplish- 
ments. Rights are easily learned when leaders earnestly wish to dis- 
seminate instruction.— People ought not to be enslaved because they 
are illiterate, nor oppressed because they happen to be weak. Away 
with these insolent airs of superiority!" 

Thus conversed this honest Englishman; and thus speaks every hon- 
est man. — Whatever governments may be, let us be just to honorable 
individual*. 

No provision is made for obtaining the sanction of the people to this 
fundamental act. He that sweareth to it may be saved, but he that 
sweareth not shall be damned. So ordains the constitution — not dic- 
tated by the general will. 

No provision is prepared for popular election; and to me it appears, 
that the legerdemain of a few cabildos and commandants will dispose 
of the whole business of election. If the practice were known, this in- 
strument would make them forget it; how then can it teach precepts of 
civil liberty! 

Swift justly admired the good old Gothic custom of annual parlia- 
ments, and saw no safeguard without them. A quadrennial term is 



93 

much too long — The celebrated Peterman of Goldentingen, avoy- 
er of Lucerne, fell gloriously at the battle of Sempach. "As he was 
expiring of his wounds, a friend who saw his danger, ran to his assist- 
ance, and finding him in the agonies of death, enquired with tender 
solicitude, if he had any family arrangements to make, while he was 
yet in a situation to do it. — "Tell my countrymen, replied the expiring 
<: hero, that Goldeltingen with his latest breath, conjures them never 
"to continue an avoyer in office for a longer term than one 
"year. It is the advice of a dying man who loves his country, and 
'•'who falls contented in having discharged his duty." 

The principle is a sound one as regards all offices in all departments. 
They are public trusts;— and will assuredly be violated, without certain 
means of responsibility. 

What then shall we say of the sacerdotal-civil-military-Senate? — 
Its cycle of service seems fitted to correspond with the number of the 
Apostles— but it would answer just as well to square it into a hundred 
and forty-four. Instead of cutting down the ecclesiastical fueros, the 
leaders cut down republicans, and erect privileged bodies to equilibrate 
with the bishops and archbishops.— What a solemn farce! 

For such a legislature, the executive holds neither inordinate pow- 
er nor a disproportionate term of office.— But, in all offices of such 
elevation, precautions should be taken against feuds and intrigues 
among the members or states of the confederacy, by securing all from 
the machinations of each. No province should be allowed to claim the 
chief directorship for any of its citizens, twice in succession. Justice, 
respect and harmony would then be maintained throughout. This is 
of great importance. It would check encroachment, and preclude im- 
proper stratagems in the transmission of power It would prevent the 

executive power from absorbing all the rest. 

As to the judicature, they have copied our error it is of a piece 

with their system; but incompatible with a free government by respon- 
sible agents. 

Upon the whole, I do not wonder that ther dictators of this constitu- 
tion should have laid a thousand snares to destroy republican chieftains 
of worth, constancy and valour. It is not for freemen. 

But no comments that I can hastily form are entitled to notice in 
comparison with principles already laid down and admitted by all 'our 
eminent men. 

Election in itself affords a very feeble barrier against the inroads of 
tyranny,— a subtle principle that assumes an inconceivably greater 
number of shapes than the Proteus of mythology. Here a^ain, your 
old favorite Taylor has so handled the subject as to leave ^nothing to 
be said by others.— Apply to Buenos-Ayres, what he has written of the 
United States; moral, physical, and mathematical truths being the same 
in all nations and times. 

"Election is almost the only barrier opposed to executive ambition 
in the United States. Alone, it has universally been insufficient. Ma- 
rius, Sylla, Pompey, Csesar, Cromwell and Buonaparte were elected. 
The English house of commons, and the French legislatures under se- 
veral forms, were elected. Election furnished in all these cases, the 



94 

means for introducing or exercising tyranny. By conveying too much 
power, or consolidating within a narrow compass the power it did con- 
vey, it awakened or excited ambition and avarice."* 

"The question is, whether the experience of all ages, — that great pow- 
er cannot be controuled by election, shall induce the Americans to ac- 
cumulate power; or whether our own existing experience, that divided 
power may be controuled by election, shall induce us to divide the mass 
collected in the national executive. 

"The evidence on both sides yields exactly the same conclusion. 
All ancient experiments, to control undivided or great masses of pow- 
er by national willj failed; our modern experiments, to control power 
in a state of considerable division, have succeeded. The first demon- 
strated the evil, the second demonstrates the remedy." 

Hence he argues, that an increase of executive power by "paper and 
patronage, — war, fleets and armies," will carry into effect in a state of 
maturity the monarchical propensity observable in our infancy. This, 
he says, cannot be prevented, but by interposing a timely provision 
against it. "A blow cannot be avoided which is not foreseen." 

"Abbreviation of the time of service, and rotation in office, are aux- 
iliaries in unmonarchising executive power, called forth by the state 
constitutions, and abandoned or relaxed by the general constitution. 
Our policy will not be made to flourish by inconsistent principles. Its 
two parts can only act with effect by acting in concert. The tempta- 
tion to form factions and perpetrate usurpation, is graduated by the 
chance of reaping the contemplated fruit. A long time of service, con- 
nected with rotation, is an inducement to obtain influence by corrup- 
tion, in order to destroy rotation; and a short time without rotation, is 
an inducement to use the same means to secure a re-election, nota- 
tion and the annual power of the Roman consuls, united, prevented 
consular usurpation for centuries; annual appointment of proconsuls, 
without a strict rotation, produced proconsular usurpation in a few 
years. 

"All mankind do in fact believe, that a short duration of delegated 
power is the best security for its continuing a delegation." 

A despot in his own case, — all men indeed — are unanimous in these 
principles. "He (a despot) carefully divides his provinces, his armies 
and his powers, so that no one dividend should be strong enough to de- 
throne him. If he is so imprudent as to place his army and his trea- 
sury under one man, and irrevocably to invest him with the command 
of them for four years, with a power of appointing and removing all 
officers civil and military,— -he is dethroned by his first able, artful and 
ambitious general." Consequently, popular sovereignty is prostrated 
in the same manner, — by giving up too much power. 

'•As countries are divided into provinces to secure kings, power 



*If election is insufficient, even with some imperfect regulations, to preserve 
the purity of public officers and agents,— how tremendous must be the influence 
of official power in the hands of permanent agents, as judges &c. who assume the 
prerogative of extending the sphere of their own authority by dint of construc- 
tion? Popes grew out of elective bishops, 



95 

ought to be divided into provinces to secure nations; and, as each geo- 
graphical division is subject to the monarch, each potential division 
should be subject to the people. 

"Power changes moral character, and private life regenerates it. 
The children of hereditary power are not tyrants from a procreative 
cause. They are made such by contemplation of the power to which 
they are destined. 

"If the prospect corrupts, will the possession cleanse? It is not in 
a natural but a moral birth, that the defect of the hereditary principle 
lies. Great power, or a long possession of power, changes a man's 
moral nature, whether.it is derived from inheritance or election. Pat- 
riots, as well as princes become tyrants from being steeped in the 
same menstruum; and yet nations are still to learn that its intoxicating 
qualities are the same upon both." 

What soul-awakening but neglected truths are deposited in this un- 
equalled book, like gold in an unknown mine! 

"Even a hope of office corrupts eloquence. It ceases to be the ani- 
mated auxiliary of truth, and becomes the mercenary ally of interest. 
Honesty is exchanged for art. An artificial character is formed by a 
possibility of continuing considerable power. It assumes different 
principles with different persons. It gilds its bait with patronage, con- 
tracts and charter, at the public expense. And the varnish it assumes 
is to conceal the foulness of the stuff it hides." — (See Taylor's Inqui- 
ry, &c. p. 170—189.) 

It is a consolation to recur to reasoning like this, — after the paid of 
reading the burlesque constitution of La Plata, her twelve years' sen- 
ate, mitres, and other cachivache. 

What is the Secretary's apology?— Why, — he says that the public 
mind is not yet prepared for religious toleration, and will not be for 
many years to come, p. 297, and talks of the "savage character of the 
population of the plains, and of the gloominess of the colonial faith," 
being "serious considerations," in regard to Buenos-Ayres. He would 
place Puerreydon and his politicians in a dilemma where difficulties 
stand so thickly on either hand that it is impossible to make any choice 
whatever. There may be military plots, insurrections, he thinks, and 
the government be deposed — or rather, the persons who have seized it. 
But, let us recollect, that they were basking in sunshine; if they have 
conjured up storms, it must have been because they preferred them. 
They may have had their hardships; but their severest privation was 
not worse than that which a grave author states of the "poor — rich, 
humble, — sovereign" missionaries of Paraguay, viz — "They have plen- 
ty of roots and herbs; and the on,ly thing they want is oil to their sal- 
lads, instead of which they are forced to use honey and sugar." 

After all, I agree with the unfortunate "Secretary" in one point: 
"We pay too little attention to South America."* Whether we 



* I again point your eye to the deceptive title of the Votaoi: ^Performed 

by order of the American government in the years 1817 and 1818!" — They were not 
one year occupied in the mission.— It i« quite perceptible, that this petty ruse 
was intended to promote the sale of a dull article here, or help its circulation at 
Buenos-Ayres.— He justified the constitution in the newspapers! ! ! 



96 

are to close as friends, or clash as foes, let us be nearer. If we are 
cold to her chiefs, let us evince friendship for the people. Endowed 
with a happy genius, the South-American is entitled to our respect; 
he will command our admiration, when he unfolds his faculties under 
a protective government. — Wherever Venezolanians of education take 
refuge in the islands, their talents win an ascendancy. The advocates 
in Trinidad, who lead the bar, Mendoza, Garcia, Vena and Salazar, 
(absit invidia!) are South Americans. They are accomplished scholars 
beside, especially the latter, who is a poet, biographer and historian ot 
no ordinary merit. — It was he, who, after commemorating his martyr- 
ed colleagues in Santa-Fe, &c. wrote a poetical tribute to the memory 
of our glorious and lamented Perky. — Would to God! that their tal- 
ents were at this moment in the service of their country, and that 
country disenthralled from Spanish habits, (for she will soon be rid of 
Spanish troops) from British plots and machinations, and the Portu- 
guese and mercantile conduits through which they are injected! I need 
not assure you, sir, that the calico-war, the broad-cloth war, and the 
hard-ivare hostilities of John Bull, are a thousand times more formi- 
dable than the catapults and scorpion-engines of Roman besiegers. — 
They resemble the hurdles that screened the battering-ram and the 
soldiers who worked it: Or, as president Adams has said, in one of his 
letters — They "conceal the asp in a basket of figs." — I wish you could 
extricate the South Americans from this venomous influence. — The 
interposition would, like mercy, be "twice blessed," — to the giver and 
to the receiver. — In a commercial light, an intimacy with South 
America is of inestimable importance.— But, of this in my next. I 
run the hazard perhaps of making my varied communication like the 
S ecretary's "Introduction" or Geography, a hodge-podge, 

Where every something-, being blent together, 
Turns to a wild of nothing. 

I will retreat from the subject, and give you the respite of a week, 
when I hope to receive the benefit of your reflections, — and 'till then. 
Adieu. 

NOTE OF LATEST INTELLIGENCE FROM CHILI,— RECEIVED SINCE THE 
PRECEDING WENT TO PRESS. 

Letters from Buenos- Ayres and Chili, written in September and Oc- 
tober last, and entitled to the highest credit, are before me. Their con- 
tents confirm my opinions, and chill my hopes. The republicans there 
seem stretching forth their supplicatory hands towards the people of 
the United States, and to implore their guardianship: " Will you suffer 
" us, your brothers and imitators, to be crucified between native usurp- 
" ers and foreign emissaries? Internal traitors and European cabinets 
" are consigning freedom and its votaries to one common tomb. We 
" thought you would vindicate our rights, because we believed you were 
" friendly to civil liberty. What stoicism has so frozen your blood, 
"that you can calmly behold us tortured on the rack, and bleeding at 
i( every pore. — We do not wish you to be involved in war on our ac- 



97 

" count — All the assistance we require you can render without violat- 
ing national duties." But, to the abstract. 

"Three grades of military nobility, (says one of our countrymen,) 
with specific privileges, have been established in Chili, under the dic- 
tation of Buenos-Ayres. They are exempted from ordinary tribunals, 
have fueros as extensive as the nobility of Spain, or Great Britain; and 
can be tried only by their peers. Estates are to be given them from 
the confiscated lands of the republicans and a few old Spaniards. In 
the meantime they enjoy pensions beside their stipend as officers. 

"The army consists of 9000 regulars, and a division of 3000 called 
the auxiliary army of the Andes. Orders are issued to raise 26 batta- 
lions of cavalry and 20 regiments of militia infantry. An expedition, 
was ready to sail for Peru as soon as lord Cochrane destroys the ene- 
my's squadron of ships and gun-boats at Callao, which you know is the 
harbour of Lima. 

"No elective right whatever exists among the people; for there is no 
representation. Power confers right, and consecrates every public act 

"There is a senate (so called!) of five members always in session. 
It is a sort of extra cabinet and seldom ventures to oppose the supreme 
director and his ministers in any thing. The principal laws, if they 
deserve the title, consist of directorial decrees, proclaimed by a crier, 
a guard, and drummer in the streets. There are some ordinances. 

"Since Irrisari went to London, one Garcia manages the government 
press; which teems with philippics against the government and people 
of the United States. An advocate of eminence, Iganu, author of the 
first aristocratical constitution of Chili, (the same who ridicules trial 
by jury, &c.) is writing Letters from the Puenches, to answer the an- 
ti-republican views of the "men in power." Notwithstanding this un- 
disguised enmity to freedom, a scheme is formed for misleading the 
people of the United States by means of hired writers and agents, and 
false publications. — Some ren'egado North-Americans have become sub- 
servient to the fraud; and one at least has raised himself from the rank 
of accomplice to that of principal in the plot by proposing amendments 
to the project. Hence some give him the honor of hatching it. Cap- 
tain 's misconduct on the other side over-heaps the measure 

of inequality. He brought into the port of Valparaiso from Lima, and 
under the American flag, a cousin of the viceroy and colonel of the 
royal lifeguards, a colonel of artillery and chief engineer, with some 
of their families, merchants and a large sum of specie. He had receiv- 
ed a sword from the viceroy, said to be worth 50,000 dollars. — He de- 
parted with this contraband freight so precipitately from the harbour, 
that American merchants were deprived of an opportunity of remitting 
their money. Under pretence of negociating an exchange of prisoners, 
an emissary was also brought who had different speculations in view. — 
These acts have rendered us both despicable and detestable in the eyes 
of the Chilians; and the monarchical faction gladly avail themselves of 
them to bring our principles into disrepute. 

"The English and Buenos-Ayreans go hand-in-hand in propagating 
injurious and false impressions respecting the United States. President 
Monroe's good intentions are reversed by the perfidiousness o f ■ 
N 



98 

and—--* n The royalists dislike us from policy, and the re- 

publicans are tempted to contemn our coldness. Inimical industry has 
been but too successful against us. — The Chilenos did entertain favor- 
able sentiments towards us before their minds were contaminated by 
Englishmen and Buonos-Ayreans. In a word Buenos-Ayres is become 
almost a colony of Great-Britain, and Chili a dependency of Buenos- 
Ayres. 

"Extraordinary efforts are making through the medium of the bishops 
and priests, of processions and mummery, to make popular reason re- 
trograde towards barbarous superstition. — In a sermon lately the cre- 
dit of the victory of Maypu was roundly ascribed to Nuestra Senora 
del Carmen,— -an ascription that makes the Virgin Mary as warlike as 
Pallas or Minerva. I pass over the circumstance of a chapel being 
built and dedicated to her on the spot; as the gallant Swiss celebrated 
some of their most glorious triumphs by piously erecting chapels as me- 
morials." 

Thus marches British plot with contemporaneous step towards its 
consummation. In Buenos-Ayres and Chili the same malignant star 
sheds its blasting influence. 

Assuredly, an openly avowed nobility, with vast domains, is better 
than an indirect one, secietly introduced, in shape of incorporations, 
or other orders; but perhaps not so easily expelled. 

''Hereditary aristocracy, supported by perpetuities, is preferable to 
a paper and patronage aristocracy, because its taxation would be less 
oppressive, since its landed estate would furnish it with opulence and 
power; whereas eternal and oppressive taxation is necessary to supply 
the aristocracy of paper and patronage with these vital qualities."— "It 
aggravated the misery of Prometheus that his liver was made to grow 
for the gratification of a harpy, without appeasing its voracity." — And 
such is the impalpable taxation perpetrated by banks and funding sys- 
tems. 

"The aristocracy of ancient superstition defended itself by exclaim- 
ing, the Cods! the temples! the sacred oracles! divine vengeance! and 
Elysian fields! — and that of paper and patronage exclaims, — national 
faith! sacred charters! disorganization! and security of property!" 
Yes, of the very property it saps, cheapens, undermines and — acquires 

In one point both agree, with the same author's description: Each is 
"a minority organized, not to preserve, but to suppress popular influ- 
ence." — There is this variation: the one is from the beginning above 
and independent of the people; the other becomes the people's mas- 
ter from their influence over leaders of the rank-and-file of party. For 
these, like true soldiers, follow their officers to — Jerusalem if necessa- 
ry. But, I trust there is a greater difference,— that ours is curable, 
and may be abolished, while the other is incurable and must continue 
forever, — if suffered to take root. In "this regard" ours is as a pim- 
ple; theirs a cancer. I trust that we shall relieve ourselves from po- 
litical blotches, which deform our fair system; and primitive principles 
recover their lost ground. I hope that we shall yet hold forth an ex- 
ample to be imitated by all the nations around us. 

From our tardiness in aiding the cause of freedom to the southward, 
I am apprehensive of our losing the opportunity forever. I deprecate 



the organization of monarchies on our continent. If we are faithful to 
republicanism and to our best commercial interests, we will prevent 
that mischief. We are bound to exclude the pest. Brazil would have 
been forced to relax her despotism by the moral and commercial ope- 
rations of free governments in her vicinity: at any rate, we should have 
had but one monarchy in America. — If we are political defaulters, on 
the contrary, darkness is likely to prevail against light; and contagion, 
corruption, and monarchy will occupy the better portion of the conti- 
nent. — It will be surrendered to the machinations of England, Portu- 
gal, and other cabinets. Are our statesmen asleep? — I hope they are 
only maturing a general and efficacious system. 

Another letter from an American citizen dated at Valparaiso, 12th 
of October, 1819, and worthy also of unlimited confidence, has the 
following: — 

"Lord Cochrane found at Payta, considerable booty, such as sugar, 
brandy and household furniture.* Indeed, it appears to me that his 
lordship is carrying on the same pitiful warfare that was waged against 
the poor farmers on the shores of the Chesapeake during the late war. 
I am of opinion that his lordship and general San Martin will do more 
injury to the cause of freedom in this part of the world than could ten 
thousand of Ferdinand's troops. For, it is my belief, that their inten- 
tion is to make use of the resources of Chili to conquer Peru for them- 
selves: and the government of Chili which is calculating on the wealth 
of Peru to restore its credit, will find itself without money, without 
troops or credit. 

"The people here generally regard San Martin with a jealous eye, 
and some are seriously alarmed; but none dare publicly express their 
sentimeuts. San Martin has command of the army, and the country 
is consequently at his mercy. The major part of his troops are from 
Buenos-Ayres: he has removed all the principal Chilian officers from 
the army and put his new creatures in their places. None dare mur- 
mur for fear oi being dealt with as traitors. If any one offend he is 
shot without ceremony. 



*This despicable predatory warfare carries on its face the family-likeness of 
that power whose admiralty-court ridiculed the new philosophy, and commended 
pillage. — Hear Franklin's list of those who ought to be exempt.— 

"1. Cultivators of the earth, because they labor for the subsistence of mankind. 

•«2. Fishermen for the same reason. 

"3. Merchants and traders in unarmed ships, who accommodate different na- 
tions by communicating and exchanging the necessaries and conveniences of life. 

"4. Artists and mechanics, inhabiting and working in open towns. 

"It is hardly necessary to add, that the hospitals of enemies should be unmo- 
lested — they ought to be assisted. It is for the interest of humanity in general, 
that the occasions of war and the inducements to it should be diminished. — If ra. 
pine be abolished, one of the encouragements to war is taken away; and peace 
therefore more likely to continue and be lasting." Nations would have agreed 
on the majority of these propositions before this time, if the influence of England 
had not stopped the progress of civilization. — To maintain her monopoly and ma- 
ritime supremacy, and to spread her dominion, she has leagued against all the 
"Rights of Man," — set up superstition, established despotic power over Europc s 
and plunged modern nations in the barbarity of past ages. 



100 

"If San Martin and his army were out of the country, and the peo- 
ple united, I should consider Chili as completely emancipated. O'Hig- 
gins is a brave and good man, and a sound patriot;* but he is surround- 
ed by the tools of San Martin, and is completely at their mercy." — 
The influence acquired with the director and patriots in?so short a time 

by the republican judge , in the face of a host, evinces what 

patriotic zeal can effect. A North-American who does not speak and 
act there with republican ardor is regarded as a monster. 



* This has never oeen doubted; but his want of ability has ever made him the 
dupe and the instrument of ihe artful. Doubtless, the disgraceful surrender in 
spring- 1814, was the work of designing-, corrupt men around him. The aristo- 
crats made use of him against the Carreras. ^ 



APOLOGETIC AL POSTSCRIPT. 

It has occurred to me- — like some other considerations perhaps rather 
late.* — that I ought to assign my reasons for turning aside to censure 
forensic sophistry or judicial assumption. If the latter be the natural 
fruit of the former, the disease ought to be attacked in the germ, else 
our liberties are blighted, and the constitution may become an empty 
sound — Law questions I leave to persons as competent as yourself; but 
those arising under a plain constitution, every intelligent man may 
comprehend and compare. It was framed to circumscribe power; but 
it is often made to confer illimitable and discretionary powers. — Some 
of our profoundest lawyers laugh at the idea of a paper-guarantee: they 
insinuate that every barrier will be constructively overleaped, the gates 
unbarred, and the judicial circle extended to embrace all the rest. Ad- 
mitting this to be founded, I could not but be alarmed at the suction 
of a vortex which would indicate a bottomless abyss. Perhaps the lu- 
minaries mistake. 

Judge Cooper, a gentleman of universal science, and of great eru- 
dition as a lawyer, suggests the opinion that written guaranties are fra- 
gile and nugatory. "But in that country [England] the high character 
and station of the judges, and the great cenfidence so universally and 
(a few instances excepted) so deservedly reposed in them, and the at- 
tention due to the opinion of the bar, as well as of the bench — form a 
& public safeguard of great practical importance: a much more effica- 
cious one than the farce of a written constitution in this country, 
which every party, bold and unprincipled in proportion to its ignor- 
ance, construes and misconstrues, uses and abuses, as the temptation 
of the moment may happen to dictate." Cooper's Justinian, page 631. 
This is extraordinary doctrine. If perverted construction has wi- 
dened judicial jurisdiction for uncounted leagues beyond the bourne of 
the constitutional one, we ought not to abolish a "written constitution" 
on that account, but clip the wing of assumption/. He prescribes as a 

*The preceding letter had been printed off before I thought of this. 



101 

remedy out- surrender to the disease — If an unruly ass or an ungovern 
able horse break into my enclosure, would it not be better to turn them 
out, and strengthen the fence, than to pull it down in despair, and suf- 
fer all the beasts of the neighbourhood to trample my clover, and browse 
upon my shrubbery?— Where reason is left free, errors may be repair- 
ed; and therefore I disagree with the celebrated commentator on Justi- 
nian. We have resources of safety under this constitution, and in the 
general intelligence which may drive back transgressors into the pale, 
of delegated power. And this is the excellence of our system, that none 
can long pretend to infallibility and supremacy. Society never parts 
with its sovereignty, and ought to resume what every spe*cies of agents 
attempt to fritter away or to transfer — I deny also, that the bar and 
bench of England have formed "a public safeguard" for freedom: they 
have commonly been the instruments of tyranny, the authors of en- 
croachments, and the pandars of the court. Coke the greatest, ablest 
of them all, was the obsequious tool of corruption and a firebrand of 
persecution, until despotism and corruption were levelled at himself. 
He then resisted arbitrary power with ingenuity and vigour. In all 
countries we find human nature the same: every order grasp at politi- 
cal power, when they can do it under pleas that secure impunity. The 
church and the bar have displayed the same ambition— have lent them- 
selves to tyranny, when they could not tyrannize themselves. We 
must watch them: In a monarchy, errors are almost eternal; in a re- 
public, they are corrigible. 

Professor Cooper might be quoted against himself— in his reply to 
Burke, and in his eulogium on our federal constitution contained in 
Priestley's Memoirs. I hope the divine instrument there is no "farce" 
here! 

Again. "There is no reply to be made to the arguments in favor of 
republicanism over monarchy: in theory they are triumphant. But, in 
practice there are objections that may give occasion to a considerate 
man to pause: especially where under the influence of universal suffrage 
the ignorance of the community is almost exclusively represented, and' 
wisdom and wealth are held in equal distrust."— ib. 633. 

In plain English,— Monarchy with all its defects, is preferable per- 
haps to our frame of representative government. I am not of this opi- 
nion. And though wisdom may cry in our streets, wealth is too apt to 
acquire great influence. A few abuses do not disprove the general ex- 
cellence of our system. Whatever invasions happen, the gentlemen of 
the bar are employed to give them plausibility.— Of them we have cause 
to beware by their own account. 

I had made many annotations to justify opinions expressed in this let- 
ter. I had seen many things decided as contracts which where destitute 
of every principle necessary to constitute them such, whether we regard 
parties, purpose, assent, or equivalents.— But it belongs not to my plan 
to dwell upon them here. They are of too great magnitude I am sa- 
tisfied in bringing the subject before you, and to you I resign it. That 
representative body, in which you ought to have much influence, will 
probe the allegations to the bottom/(as I hope) and adopt proper mea- 
sures. If there be foundation for the charges, I trust that they will 



10& 

not slumber over them.— And so I dismiss that topic,—turning for a 
moment to other parts of the theme. 

Others, however, ought not to be deterred from forming "written 
constitutions," even if the sophisters have occasionally tugged and 
stretched, and abridged our own. Extravagance has spread alarm, and 
is about to correct itself. The poor people of Germany and Russia 
would be happy, if they could extort such a guarantee from their mas- 
ters. Spain would be happy: France would deem herself stable; and 
England avert a revolution by such a reform. I am still willing t<» re- 
gard the invention of letters as divine — were it only because it has 
given birth to a "written constitution."— If Europe is scourged by in- 
dependent kings, any other country would be scourged by independent 
judges, or independent officers of any description. — Within society, 
— (and the very term society denotes internal dependence and collec- 
tive independence,) the phrase is foolish, deceptious, extravagant and 
iniquitous. No agent can safely be independent of, or uncontroulable 
by his constituents. Responsibility is the virtue and the power by which 
public functionaries are held within their orbit. Responsible kings, re- 
sponsible chiefs, responsible representatives, responsible judges, can 
alone be harmless, useful, or trustworthy. Were the miserable peo- 
ple of Europe to draw the claws of their kings, hierarchs and nobility, 
— and reduce the monsters to men, they might play with those dread 
animals as with tame rattlesnakes, — that are deprived of their fangs 
and venom. — For farther illustration, I may add, that a robber is a per- 
son who throws off the shackles of law, and strives to render himself 
independent of society: and so of all culprits round. They endeavor by 
a centrifugal force to escape from local restraiut and from the social 
sphere. A great king sets himself above society by fraud or might, or 
the "grace of God." If other stewards of any denomination can sepa- 
rate themselves from social dependence on any pretence, the principle 
and consequence are comparatively the same.— A government of laws 
is displaced by the hocus-pocus of construction; and the general repre- 
sentative will be thus set completely at nought. 

To hasten that reform, which is feared by the despisers of written 
constitutions in South America, or derided by some learned gentlemen 
here, I shall exhibit the pretensions of the pettifoggers in full relief, 
in shape of their own harangue. But it is for pettifoggeis alone — not 
for liberal lawyers, or politicians of reading and common sense. Who 
knows but it may weaken the force of that assuetude which they so 
artfully propagate? — Who knows but it may turn an eye of jealousy 
on those ceaseless efforts which we witness to establish a government 
over the people, but independently of them? 

"Messieurs plebeians, — Why do you at times appear so gloomy and 
disconsolate? You are the happiest mortals that ever trod the stage 
of life. Every thing is done for you, and you are kindly relieved of 
all solid concern in legislation, government, and the administration of 
justice. We allow you as much participation in those things as is be- 
neficial to yourselves and us. Lawyers are created to protect you, and 
consequently ordained to rule you. The end confers the means. Dis- 
miss all your cares: five or six judges can think for you all,— assisted 



10S 

as they are by tens of thousands of counsellors, and supported by 
your implicit fail h. — Till your fields; sow, reap and mow; — pursue 
your commerce; think of amusement and labor, but avoid the useless 
labor of thinking. It is far more reasonable, — you may rest assured 
of it, — that half a dozen should guide and govern a nation, than that 
a nation should delegate prescribed duties to half a dozen of eminent 
citizens. There is but one centre of light for the whole circle of plan- 
ets; one sun, but numerous moons. You are the opaque, we the luminous 
bodies. It is a fallacy then, — nay, a damnable heresy, to suppose that 
the greater number govern the lesser: no; no; the precedents of all na- 
tions declare the reverse. The lesser bedazzle and controul the great- 
er; and you must not presume to alter this settled order of the moral 
world. Confide in us; we are always ready, for a fair fee, to counsel 
and console you. What more could you possibly require? By con- 
structions and glosses we will furnish you with laws. We'll manu- 
facture for your accommodation as rare a constitution as you could 
make, or meet in a summer's day. True, it is, your representatives 
have the name of enacting statutes; but, they are totally transformed 
or refracted in passing through the medium of our courts. It is no ob- 
jection that our code becomes formless. The Deity himself is conceiv- 
ed to be amorphous. — It is as vain to argue that laws should emanate 
wholly from the general will, as to insist that children should be indul- 
ged in their whimsical inclinations. Nations like infants are spoiled 
by too much liberty. No; no; genuine laws issue like oracles from the 
mouths of judges and "special attorneys." You are mistaken, gentle- 
men; it is finally for lawyers to make laws; for shoemakers to make 
shoes; for tailors to make breeches, and for grave-diggers to make 
graves. You know not what light is until it is refracted and transmit- 
ted through the lawyer-lens and prism. (What right had Paine to 
think, or Monterosa to comment?) You cannot complain of deception: 
all your predecessors liked to be deceived. They did not dive into 
mysteries, but like good people believed whatever the parson enjoined 
or the lawyer expounded — except among Anglo-Saxons &c. who settled 
all their contests civil and criminal by battle or by jury. That mon- 
struosity we soon dissipated— and took the law into our own hand. 
What sort of a world would it be, if all the inhabitants were quakers? 
Neither lawsuits nor wars! O Mercury! what would then become of law- 
yers? what would become of priests? not one of them would ever chaunt 
a Te Deum laudamus! Our forefathers (now in glory) were not so super - 
humanly unreasonable: and would you forget the wisdom, and depart 
from the sanctified usage of your ancestors? Rather "let chaos come 
again!" What new-fangled philosophy like a hedge-hog has crept into 
some of your sculls, and sharply served hoary custom (the venerable old 
tenant!) with a writ of ejectment! It is the business of the multitude, we 
tell you, to hear and obey. Be silent, and submit yourselves to the higher 
powers. We are the guardians appointed by fate to take care of you. 
And who so fit for the paternal task of superintendance as verbal critics 
and etymologists like us, who can acutely resolve slavery itself into a 
mere word, and words into letters, and letters into sounds?— We can de- 
monstrate that diffusion of servitude is quite contrary to the extension of 



104 

it,- — one implying circular, the other rectilinear motion. We can even 
show that extension is the direct road towards abolition; and we can 
prove, that just and impartial, though vulgarly deemed to be closely re- 
lated, never belonged to the same household. When expedient we can 
show that controlling all is not governing all. We can convince any 
body, except a sceptic, that equity and law are not cousin -gerinans: that 
the former is simple as the homespun dress of a quaker, but the other 
a dandefied, party-colored, variable, fashionable buck, adapted to Bond- 
street or Broadway. One is intelligible and unchangeable, the other 
as fickle as an April day. We are his barbers, and dress and shave 
him seven times a day: for he pays us like a prince,— and answers all 
our purposes. — The nobility have often labored to rescue him from our 
tutelage, and take him under their own — but we outflanked them in Penn- 
sylvania, where they were ignorant of manoeuvres; and the example 
has affrighted others. We have him now entirely at our disposal. When 
expeditions have been fittihg out against us, we dispersed them by di- 
viding the members. We assured them that the people never hold any 
thing in veneration which they understand; and therefore, law must 
be a mystery like religion. Who can reproach the priest or the law- 
yer for taking advantage of this foible? If men love to be cheated, they 
will be cheated. Our strength consists principally (if I must confess 
it) in others' weakness. Hence, diversion is always in our power: we 
can distract combinations whenever we please. 

Are our prerogatives menaced with attack? — We adroitly and as- 
suasively convince the multitude that it is their rights which are in 
danger. Thus we meet popular clamour, as the devout friar began his 
sermon, with cries of Fire! Fire! Fire! We can spring our rattles 
and ring our alarum-bells, and confound the people. — We can all march 
at the signal, as if we had but one pair of legs amongst the corps. 

Formerly we harbored some uneasiness lest legislature should prove 
restive; but they soon received our bitts and consented to our rein. 
Principles were drowned in usage, more effectually than the fly in Bur- 
gundy; and we are not in the least afraid of a resurrection. 

Party-spirit, party -names, and party-rage are of inestimable service 
to us. They keep up delusion and mislead the people from principles 
to names; we can play on the rabble in this manner as easily as a black- 
smith blows his bellows, or a flute player touches his flute. By this 
glorious fragility of human nature, our chef d-ceuvre succeeds to a 
miracle; and we make the boobies believe that a victory over freedom 
is the triumph of freedom — When they are thus bewildered and con- 
fused, we leave them to abuse and maul each other like ships or armies 
thrown into disorder in a night-attack. Party is our life; because we 
are courted by both sides, and govern both. If the people do recover 
their senses, they are rendered so timid by defeats, and distrustful by 
feuds, that they can never cordially coalesce again. — rSubmit, then, I 
say, to your legal and legitimate masters. You behold undoubted 
proofs of our superiority in the dexterity with which we baffle the re- 
formers by secretly hurling a brand amongst themselves. We marvel- 
lously address them from various quarters with such counterfeit chris- 
Han-like exhortations as would not dishonor the adroitest ventriloquist: 



105 

and the credulous go off under as full persuasion as a famed assent 
blage of crusaders that it was the voice of God.— The wiser few stand 
frustrate, perplext,. and bewitched. They can neither denude nor de- 
decorate us. Though they execrate us for a while, they return like 
good children and kiss the rod against which they had for a moment 
rebelled. In this repentant mood, we impress our credo on their melt- 
ed souls.— We tell them very gravely that perfection is not attainable 
in this world, but that all accounts will be balanced in the next. And 
thus, like the kings of Europe (fine independent fellows! that they are,) 
we postpone reformation till the day of judgment, — greatly to their 
ease and our conveniency. 

Give over your schemes gentlemen; you pursue a phantom. If the 
government of judges formerly prepared a disappointed and disgusted 
people to bow their necks to the yoke of kings, ---preferring one master 
to a swarm, — never mind it at present. Things must run their course: 
they who are anointed to reign, must rule you.— Wherefore should not 
judges "govern those who govern all the rest?" Have they not receiv- 
ed as broad a patent in law as pontiffs in religion? And whom these 
bind on earth you are told, will not be unbound in heaven. How are 
we to hold the balance of power, (to say no more) without equal pre' 
rogatives with other orders? I dislike the late motion to enquire into 
our numbers. — A registry of litigation would look as awkwardly as the 
invoice of Wolsey's plate. — It would show our income, scent the way 
to our den, and afford a clue to our power. It would oblige us to erect 
another mound or play off another stratagem. But our friends parried 
the blow, crippled the census, and saved us some trouble.— You see 
our supremacy at every turn. Dispute not for sway with the "superior 
powers."— But, be content to occupy the second place. 
'Tis next to conqu'ring- wisely to submit, 
"I forgot, Messrs. Clients, to apprize you of another resource we 
have in li stress of weather ." — When people are heated with anger at 
abuses, and threaten to return to first principles, we have an infallible' 
specific to stop their flight, and cool the tetes exaltes: — in the technical 
language of the trade, it is called compromise. We mix black and 
white, green and blue, aristocratical principles and democratic ele- 
ments, monarchy and jacobinism, in such proportions that nothing of 
the original appears, and the trick is never perceived till it is too late. 
By this operation, we seldom fail to confound and sicken our antago- 
nists; who feeling a sense of nausea, run off and leave the whole com- 
pound to ourselves, who enjoy our victory over simplicity, and ana- 
lyze it again at leisure. I won a great. quantity of salt and sugar the 
other day secundum artem,— the peasant running off with the ugliest 
face I ever saw; and swearing as he came back, that our legerdemain 
gained us the whole pudding with the bare cost of casting in an addled 
°oS* — Another countryman swore that it reminded him of a dirty com- 
parison he had read in an English poet: 

As when some demirep has thrown 
His snivel in the dish, 'tis all his own. 

Messieurs peasants,— I acknowledge that this is a disgusting illu> 



lustration; but you will confess that it is a strong one. I shall atone 
for the sin of indelicacy by relating a case of compromise which actu- 
ally took place at sea, in regard to a profession very like our own; for, 
if gospel is not always law, law is always gospel. 

During the cruize of captain ****** ? of the Buenos-Ayrean priva- 
teer r-, which came into this port to refit, the captain inter- 
cepted a Spanish vessel having on board some Spanish-American priests 
of the independent party, who were sailing to Spain as prisoners, and 
very much against their wills. They were released from the jaws of 
death; and treated with the greatest kindness and hospitality; captain 

•» possessing all the generosity and urbanity of a first-rate 

American commander.— Soon after the recapture of this cargo of padres 
a seamen fell from one of the yards, and was killed. — The crew being 
mustered to pay the last testimonials of respect to a brother tar, whose 
corpse was sewed up in due form in a hammoek, a 12lb. shot at his 
feet and about to be committed to that deep ("where sleep the bravest 
of the brave,") the principal priest was requested to officiate as chap- 
lain,— but he refused,— conscientiously refused — obstinately refused. 
He would not grant a passport to paradise, I suppose, for one of a dif- 
ferent creed. — The deceased tar was solemnly launched into his chosen 
element;— -and I presume steered his way to the "place appointed for 
all living," as exactly as an archbishop. But his messmates, — how dis- 
dainfully did they scowl and lour upon the priests! They damned their 
eyes, but those black and bloody b******, had occasioned the gale, 
and were the cause of Jacks's death, and proposed throwing them over- 
board at once; for there would never be luck or a fair wind while there 
was one of them in the ship — they would be haunted with ghosts and 
chased by sharks to the end of the cruize.— The captain was likewise 
piqued, and threatened to put the priest on board the first Spaniard 
be should overhaul. — It was not difficult for a padre to espy the storm 
that was brewing; and he meditated how to disperse it before it should 
burst in wrath upon his devoted head.— His sagacity pointed out the 
genuine method of pacification. He respectfully craved a conference 
with the captain; said in the meekest manner, that he found to his great 
surprize and chagrin, the dissatisfaction he had unconsciously given, — 
took all the saints to witness, male and female, that it had been mis- 
conception not wilfulness on his side— he did not well understand the 
seamen's language, but could easily read their expressive looks. He 
had only declined, lest his clerical ceremony should give offence, — and 
for nothing else in the world. "But; if it will appease them and yourself, 
said he, I declare before God and his ever Blessed Mother, that I will 
bury you all as fast as you die." — They saw plainly that in offers, vows 
and promises no mortal man could go farther: they accepted the com- 
promise, and were pacified like innocent children. The surly tar that 
had threatened to heave him into the sea, would now have jumped over 
board to save the "ghostly father." And the advantages were all on the 
priest's side: he would receive their good offices through life on the bare 
promise of burying them after death.— So easy is it by a little finesse 
to still a storm by compromise,— which may mean any thing or nothing, 
as our right to interpret is always reserved, or implied, or assumed. I 
ftee some of you shake your heads at a compromise that ends in death — ■ 



107 

but to this condition you must come sooner or later. — There is great 
harmony in it. 

"I know some of you are tristful enough, at the prophecy of a Euro- 
pean bishop, and the prospect of monarchy before us.* You must bow 
to fate, complaints against clientage and dependency notwithstanding. 
It is true that our myriads of banks propagate subserviency, each in its 
circle; and that the "elect," or lawyers hold the body of inhabitants as 
clientels. But, it is our inheritance, as I have shown you. — These 
practices may prepare a throne, as its foundation is laid — And has not 
Europe her thrones? has not Asia her thrones? and do you not daily 
enthrone your idols? — do you not part with all your power and confi- 
dence to your favorites? — Why then do you grumble, if they so tena- 
ciously hold what you set no price on? — Why would you be singular? 
— What, if you destroy the elective franchise, and annihilate the re- 
presentative system? You will still have patrons or lawyers to redress 
all your grievances. — We thrive best in monarchies. And let me tell 
you. If liberty must die, a galloping consumption is better than a slow 
one.—Die what may, let your superiors, the lawyers, live and flourish 
ferever! So never fear!" 

I hope you will acknowledge, my friend, that this is a candid speech 
— extremely guileless and authentic. --True it is, theoretically, there 
are no higher powers than the sovereign people, the legitimate fountain 
of all authority. Orders of men speak in the supercilious spirit of the 
corps: and much allowance is to be made for the arrogant tone of per- 
sons intoxicated with power and grown giddy by an elevation, — from 
"which they look down on the abject world as their footstool and domain. 

I do not include all the learned corps with the herd of pretenders; 
neither do I hint that precedent has not its use in elucidating the vague 
mass of common law as dispersed among reported adjudications: but to 
apply such rules and dogmas where the Constitution speaks, is worse 
than sacrilege. Violation is not a pattern ot interpretation for that in- 
strument. Its obligation is as imperative now, (and will I trust remain 
as binding forever) as when it was first adopted. One transgression 
does not warrant another. A line of violators are not a constitutional 
or "public safeguard." The quibbles of courts are no rule for legisla- 
tion, but pests to be shunned. — These are tenets which I would under- 
take to maintain against Cicero himself: and in this position I contend 
for a "written constitution," gainsay it who will. 

Jest as professional wranglers may about human interests; and joke 
as we will at the ludicrous pretences or the moustrous logick by which 
the few contrive to steal away the inheritance ot the many,— it is a 
"farce" that if unchecked must end in tragedy. For, the succession of 
events in real life diners greatly from the routine of the playhouse.— 
It is farcical enough to suppose that we cannot understand our own 
speech without professional interpreters! — You and I find no difficulty 
in fathoming each other's meaning though we write without restraint. 
We know something of our mother tongue, and have no motive to be 



* Alluding to De Pradt's prediction, that when the United States become popu- 
lous, they will separate; or rather, wdl be formed into a monarchy. A readiness 
to compromise rights and barter principles, is a bad symptom. 



108 

ambiguous. Cannot laws be passed with equal plainness? What neces- 
sity for continual interpretation? — "Important Decision, — Important 

Law-case" daily catch our eye in staring capitals. Is the miracle so 

conspicuous, and why? — Was it not law before? Was it never promul- 
gated? or, does it suddenly flow from a discretionary officer, instead 

of springing from the general will? Do my friend— do ponder this 

momentous matter in your mind. I hope we shall live to see our own. 
deviations rectified, — the independence of 'agents exploded, good consti- 
tutions established in Spanish America, and the enemies of human hap* 
piness confounded. 

I say nothing of past diseases, and the shock they have given onr half-shattered 
constitution. The traces of the funding system, of British influence, and of par- 
ty-madness, of bank-shoals, and political prostitution or shipwreck, are more visi- 
sible than the marks of small-pox. The body politic has been likened to an in- 
valid that cannot survive another- excess. But, surely this is false! 

Since I am correcting erroneous impressions, I may as well repeat a caution on 
the authorship of the "Outline," already mentioned. D. Andres Bello and Jonte 
were its authors; receiving articles from South American agents in London; the 
part relating to Chili is mostly a malevolent fabrication. 

I may as conveniently state at the same time — the substance of a note I have 
seen concerning the Secretary's absurd notion of the "gloominess of colonial faith 
and the savage nature f the inhabitants of the plains."— A juster commentary I 
believe, was never made than that which follows.- 

"Reviewing the character of the inhabitants of La Plata, f can find no author- 
ity to justify the attribute of barbarousness. — Born beneath a most benignant sky, 
and surrounded on every side with the finest gifts of nature, they learn content- 
ment gaiety and complacency from the cradle. A relish for society, love of plea- 
sure and hospitality are retained through life. — Descending from European Span- 
iards, they inherited the civilization of their ancestors, and have become gentler, 
more humane and generous; from the influence of climate, and the state of socie- 
ty. — The Romish religion as now preached and practised, without fanaticism or 
much superstition, promotes patience, charity or cheerfulness. It may some- 
times make a man passive and pusillanimous, but never renders him savage. In 
great emergencies men act from honor and feeling, and become resolute as the 
stronger passions overcome the weaker. — The Catholic is one of the merriest 
creeds in the world; and our voyager must have confessed it, if he had understood 
the number and character of their religious festivals. "Carnival time" is become 
a proverb; when the people riggish in their fancy &c. seek a thousand kind of 
sports, frolicks, divertisement and fun. To be gloomy then is no venial sin; and 
they "laugh like parrots at a bagpiper." The amusements of the theatre are not 
wanting; dancing and the charms of sprightly conversation are not forgotten; nor 

the witchery of music, as our voyager observed at the tertulias of Mr. E. . 

There is almost equal gaiety in masking and mimicry, on the Dia de los Inso- 
cesttes, when the younger folks play all the anticks possible, to the diversion of 
the old. — Corpus Cristi day is another renewal of hilarity and public glee. — So 
that without saying a word of the more essential parts of their religion, enough is 
said to show that "gloominess of faith" is inapplicable to the South-Americans. — 
Be it used or abused as it may, it is any thing but "gloomy." Their own writers 
have denounced censure on the tendency of confession, — the padre's bank, which 
creates dependency in every parishioner, and makes the priest chief counsellor, 
treasurer and dictator.- but, this is not our concern. If their creed seem strange 
to us. our religious "hubbubs" would seem frenzy to them. Which has the "beam 
in his eye," I'll not decide — I will reiterate the cheery nature of their belief and 
jovial temper. — Corpe diem is their blithe motto; which a witty friend, to whom ab- 
stinence was preached in an attack of the gout, thus translated.- "A man may as 
well die as not live.'" 

His apology for tyranny is dissipated; and he ends as he begins, with folly, un- 
truth, malice or perversion. 



105 

and the credulous go off under as full persuasion as a famed assem- 
blage of crusaders that it was the voice of God.— The wiser few stand 
frustrate, perplext, and bewitched. They can neither denude nor de- 
decorate us. Though they execrate us for a while, they return like 
good children and kiss the rod against which they had for a moment 
rebelled. In this repentant mood, we impress our credo on their melt- 
ed souls.— We tell them very gravely that perfection is not attainable 
in this world, but that all accounts will be balanced in the next. And 
thus, like the kings of Europe (fine independent fellows! that they are,) 
we postpone reformation till the day of judgment, — greatly to their 
ease and our conveniency. 

Give over your schemes gentlemen; you pursue a phantom. If the 
government of judges formerly prepared a disappointed and disgusted 
people to bow their necks to the yoke of kings,— preferring one master 
to a swarm, — never mind it at present. Things must run their course: 
they who are anointed to reign, must rule you. — Wherefore should not 
judges "govern those who govern all the rest?" Have they not receiv- 
ed as broad a patent in law as pontiffs in religion? And whom these 
bind on earth you are told, will not be unbound in heaven. How are 
we to hold the balance of power, (to say no more) without equal pre- 
rogatives with other orders? I dislike the late motion to enquire into 
our numbers.— A. registry of litigation would look as awkwardly as the 
invoice of Wolsey's plate. — It would show our income, scent the way 
to our den, and afford a clue to our power. It would oblige us to erect 
another mound or play off another stratagem. But our friends parried 
the blow, crippled the census, and saved us some trouble. — You see 
our supremacy at every turn. Dispute not for sway with the "superior 
powers."— But, be content to occupy the second place. 
'Tis next to conqu'ring wisely to submit. 

"I forgot, Messrs. Clients, to apprize you of another resource we 
have in fi stress of weather.^ — When people are heated with anger at 
abuses, and threaten to return to first principles, we have an infallible 
specific to stop their flight, and cool the tetes exaltes: — in the technical 
language of the trade, it is called compromise. We mix black and 
ivhite, green and blue, aristocratical principles and democratic ele- 
ments, monarchy and jacobinism, in such proportions that nothing of 
the original appears, and the trick is never perceived till it is too late. 
By this operation, we seldom fail to confound and sicken our antago- 
nists; who feeling a sense ot nausea, run off and leave the whole com- 
pound to ourselves, who enjoy our victory over simplicity, and ana- 
lyze it again at leisure. I won a great quantity of salt and sugar the 
other day secundum artem, — the peasant running off with the ugliest 
face I ever saw; and swearing as he came back, that our legerdemain 
gained us the whole pudding with the bare cost of casting in an addled 
egg — Another countryman swore that it reminded him of a dirty com- 
parison he had read in an English poet: 

As when some demirep has thrown 
His snivel in the dish, 'tis all his own. 

Messieurs peasants,-—! acknowledge that this is a disgusting illus- 



106 

lustration; but you will confess that it is a strong one. I shall atone 
for the sin of indelicacy by relating a case of compromise which actu- 
ally took place at sea, in regard to a profession very like our own; for, 
if gospel is not always law, law is always gospel. 

During the cruize of captain ******, f the Buenos-Ayrean priva- 
teer , which came into this port to refit, the captain inter- 
cepted a Spanish vessel having on board some Spanish-American priests 
of the independent party, who were sailing to Spain as prisoners, and 
very much against their wills. They were released from the jaws of 
death; and treated with the greatest kindness and hospitality; captain 

■ ^ possessing all the generosity and urbanity of a first-rate 

American commander.— Soon after the recapture of this cargo of padres 
a seamen fell from one of the yards, and was killed.— The crew being 
mustered to pay the last testimonials ot respect to a brother tar, whose 
corpse was sewed up in due form in a hammock, a 121b. shot at his 
feet and about to be committed to that deep ("where sleep the bravest 
of the brave,") the principal priest was requested to officiate as chap- 
lain,— but he refused,— conscientiously refused — obstinately refused. 
He would not grant a passport to paradise, I suppose, for one of a dif- 
ferent creed.— The deceased tar was solemnly launched into his chosen 
element; — and I presume steered his way to the ''place appointed for 
all living,'' as exactly as an archbishop. But his messmates, — how dis- 
dainfully did they scowl and lour upon the priests! They damned their 
eyes, but those black and bloody b******, had occasioned the gale, 
and were the cause of Jacks's death, and proposed throwing them over- 
board at once; for there would never be luck or a fair wind while there 
was one of them in the ship— they would be haunted with ghosts and 
chased by sharks to the end of the cruize.— The captain was likewise 
piqued, and threatened to put the priest on board the first Spaniard 
be should overhaul.— It was not difficult for a padre to espy the storm 
that was brewing; and he meditated how to disperse it before it should 
burst in wrath upon his devoted head. — His sagacity pointed out the 
genuine method of pacification. He respectfully craved a conference 
with the captain; said in the meekest manner, that he found to his great 
surprize and chagrin, the dissatisfaction he had unconsciously given, — 
took all the saints to witness, male and female, that it had been mis- 
conception not wilfulness on his side— he did not well understand the 
seamen's language, but could easily read their expressive looks. He 
had only declined, lest his clerical ceremony should give offence, — and 
for nothing else in the world. "But; if it will appease them and yourself, 
said he, I declare before God and his ever Blessed Mother, that I will 
bury you all as fast as you die." — They saw plainly that in offers, vows 
and promises no mortal man could go farther: they accepted the com- 
'promise, and were pacified like innocent children. The surly tar that 
had threatened to heave him into the sea, would now have jumped over 
board to save the "ghostly father." And the advantages were all on the 
priest's side: he would receive their good offices through life on the bare 
promise of burying them after death. — So easy is it by a little finesse 
to still a storm by compromise,-- which may mean any thing or nothing, 
as our right to interpret is always reserved, or implied, or assumed. I 
see some of you shake your heads at a compromise that ends in death — • 



107 

hut to this condition- you must come sooner or later. — There is great 
harmony in it. 

"I know some of you are tristful enough, at the prophecy of a Euro- 
pean bishop, and the prospect of monarchy before us.* You must bow 
to fate, complaints against clientage and dependency notwithstanding. 
It is true that our myriads of banks propagate subserviency, each in its 
circle; and that the "elect," or lawyers hold the body of inhabitants as 
clientels. But, it is our inheritance, as I have shown you. — These 
practices may prepare a throne, as its foundation is laid — And has not 
Europe her thrones? has not Asia her thrones? and do you not daily 
enthrone your idots? — do you not part with all your power and confi- 
dence to your favorites?— Why then do you grumble, if they so tena- 
ciously hold what you set no price on? — Why would you be singular? 
— What, if you destroy the elective franchise, and annihilate the re- 
presentative system? You will still have patrons or lawyers to redress 
all your grievances. — We thrive best in monarchies. And let me tell 
you. If liberty must die, a galloping consumption is better than a slow 
one. — Die what may, let your superiors, the lawyers, live and flourish 
ferever! So never fear!" 

I hope you will acknowledge^ my friend, that this is a candid speech 
—extremely guileless and authentic. --True it is, theoretically, there 
are no higher powers than the sovereign people, the legitimate fountain 
of all authority. Orders of men speak in the supercilious spirit of the 
corps: and much allowance is to be made for the arrogant tone of per- 
sons intoxicated with power and grown giddy by an elevation,— from 
which they look down on the abject world as their footstool and domain. 

I do not include all the learned corps with the herd of pretenders; 
neither do I hint that precedent has not its use in elucidating the vague 
mass of common laiv as dispersed among reported adjudications: but to 
apply such rules and dogmas where the Constitution speaks, is worse 
than sacrilege. Violation is not a pattern ot interpretation for that in- 
strument. Its obligation is as imperative now, (and will I trust remain 
as binding forever) as when it was first adopted. One transgression 
does not warrant another. A line of violators are not a constitutional 
or "public safeguard." The quibbles of courts are no I'ule for legisla- 
tion, but pests to be shunned. — These are tenets which I would under- 
take to maintain against Cicero himself: and in this position I contend 
for a "written constitution," gainsay it who will. 

Jest as professional wranglers may about human interests; and joke 
as we will at the ludicrous pretences or the moustrous logick by which 
the few contrive to steal away the inheritance ot the many, — it is a 
"farce" that if unchecked must end in tragedy. For, the succession of 
events in real life differs greatly from the routine of the playhouse.— 
It is farcical enough to suppose that we cannot understand our own 
speech without professional interpreters! — You and I find no difficulty 
in fathoming each other's meaning though we write without restraint. 
We know something of our mother tongue, and have no motive to be 



* Alluding to De Pradt's prediction, that when the United States become popu- 
lous, they will separate; or rather, will be formed into a monarchy. A readiness 
to compromise rights and barter principles, is a bad symptom. 



108 

ambiguous. Cannot laws be passed with equal plainness? What neces- 
sity for continual interpretation? — "Important Decision, — Important 
Law-case" — daily catch our eye in staring capitals. Is the miracfe so 
conspicuous, and why?— Was it not law before? Was it never promul- 
gated? or, does it suddenly flow from a discretionary officer, instead 

of springing from the general will? Do my friend — do ponder this 

momentous matter in your mind. I hope we shall live to see our own 
deviations rectified, — the independence of agents exploded, good consti- 
tutions established in Spanish America, and the enemies of human hap- 
piness confounded. 

I say nothing 1 of past diseases, and the shock they have given our half-shattered 
constitution. The traces of the funding system, of British influence, and of par- 
ty-madness, of bank-shoals, and political prostitution or shipwreck, are more visi- 
sible than the marks of small-pox. The body politic has been likened to an in- 
valid that cannot survive another excess. But, surely this is false! 

Since I am correcting erroneous impressions, I may as well repeat a caution on 
the authorship of the "Outline," already mentioned. D. Andres Bello and Jonte 
were its authors; receiving articles from South American agents in London; the 
part relating to Chili is mostly a malevolent fabrication. 

I may as conveniently state at the same time — the substance of a note I have 
seen concerning the Secretary's absurd notion of the "gloominess of colonial faith 
and the savage nature of the inhabitants of the plains." — A juster commentary I 
believe, was never made than that which follows.- 

**Reviewing the character of the inhabitants of L.^ Plata, I can find no author- 
ity to justify the attribute of barbarousness. — Born beneath a most benignant sky, 
and surrounded on every side with the finest gifts of nature, they learn content- 
ment gaiety and complacency from the cradle. A relish for society, love of'plea- 
sure and hospitality are retained through life. — Descending from European Span- 
iards, they inherited the civilization of their ancestors, and have become gentler, 
more humane and generous; from the influence of climate, and the state of socie- 
ty. — The Romish religion as now preached and practised, without fanaticism or 
much superstition, promotes patience, charity or cheerfulness. It may some- 
times make a man passive and pusillanimous, but never renders him savage. In 
great emergencies men act from honor and feeling, and become resolute as the 
stronger passions overcome the weaker. — The Catholic is one of the merriest 
creeds in the world; and our voyager must have confessed it, if he had understood 
the number and character of their religious festivals. ''Carnival time" is become 
a proverb; when the people riggish in their fancy &c. seek a thousand kind of 
sports, frolicks, divertisement and fun. To be gloomy then is no venial sin; and 
they ''laugh like parrots at a bagpiper." The amusements of the theatre are not 
-wanting; dancing and the charms of sprightly conversation are not forgotten; nor 

the witchery of music, as our voyager observed at the tertulias of Mr. E. . 

There is almost equal gaiety in masking and mimicry, on the Dia de ios Iwsro- 
centes, when the younger folks play all the anticks possible, to the diversion of 
the old. — Corpus Cristi day is another renewal of hilarity and public glee. — So 
that without saying a word of the more essential parts of their religion, enough is 
said to show that "gloominess of faith" is inapplicable to the South-Americans. — 
Be it used or abused as it may, it is any thing but "gloomy." Their own writers 
have denounced censure on the tendency of confession, — the padre's bank, which 
creates dependency in every parishioner, and makes the priest chief counsellor, 
treasurer and dictator.- but, this is not our concern. If their creed seem strange 
to us. our religious "hubbubs" would seem frenzy to them. Which has the "beam 
in his eye," I'll not decide — I will reiterate the cheery nature of their belief and 
jovial temper. — Covpe diem is their blithe motto; which a witty friend, to whom ab- 
stinence was preached in an attack of the gout, thus translated.- "A man may as 
well die as not live" 

His apology for tyranny is dissipated; and he ends as he begins, with folly, un- 
truth, malice or perversion. 



LETTER II. 

Commercial and Political importance of South American 
emancipation, to the United States, — with a few remarks on 
the geographical and statistical views of our learned "Secretary.," 
as they occur in chapters 2, 3, and 4, of the " Voyage" vol. II. 

Baltimore, January 2Qth 1820- 
My dear friend, 

Let us banish (as far as the subject will admit) the bitter recol- 
lections of intrigue that tinged my former letter: let us forsake the 
prospect of ambitious collusion, and shun that labyrinth of plots where 
intricacy is unravelled only by guilty traces of secret slaughter: — let 
us if possible, forget bloody compacts, and make an excursion into 
the recreative walks of geography; or, at least let us loiter a while 
in the more important field of statistics and commerce. In either of 
these our "voyager" may be supposed unbiassed,— and he might have 
been free if he could not be faultless. Faction might have been shut 
out, and jarring passion dissipated in reflecting on the grandeur, the 
harmony or the bloom of nature — in her favorite abodes. There was 
nothing human or divine to perplex him — Perhaps Jlrtigas was lec- 
turing his horsemen on the best mode of conducting the petite guerre^ 
or paternally chiding them for some past mistake, for he is too great 
a master of the human heart to deal in reproaches with simple, honest 
minds: perhaps he was conversing with the cidevant priest Monterosa 
about the "doctrines of Paine," — on the degeneracy of mankind, who 
barter freedom for luxury or gold, or commerce, who basely renounce 
equal rights on a false promise of exemption from just contribution, — 
and exchange divine meditations for superstitious dogmas — He doubt- 
less knit his brow in scorn of the herd that suffer either merchants or 
lawyers to trade in their rights under hollow pretences; who allow 
kings to tread them in the dust; and resolved for himself rather to live 
in solitude than live without liberty. — Perhaps his very enemies were 
reposing from sacrifice, having left the Potters-field to lie fallow for a 
day;— and Charon no doubt took advantage of the unexpected holliday 
to caulk his crazy boat. — Perhaps the gods (heathenish ones of course,) 
were sporting as of old in Ethiopia, or some of them slyly frolicking 
on Mount Ida, — quite unconcerned about our events— leaving the "sons 
of men" — to "manage their own affairs in their own way." Some think 
with old Epicurus and his foolish sect that it was always thus; — as 
they thought it derogatory to the dignity of deities to turn stewards, 
lacqueys, sentinels, or majordomos for inflated mortals, whom Saturn 
or Jupiter had gifted with eyes, ears, hands, feet, noses, nails, feelers, 
memory, reason and volition. Into this unfathomable, shoreless pleito 
I shall not thrust my poor sconce or speculations; but refer you to the 
divines, who boldly cut whatever they cannot disentangle, and have a 
wider field of conquest than the Macedonian. I meant merely to tell 
you, that if none of the old Olympian crew sailed with the voyager, he 



110 

cannot blame their decrees, however fashionable it may be to ..arraign 
the stars for human foibles. 

A theme so pleasant (and important too) as geographico-commercial 
enquiry, ought to have been met with welcome, and conducted with 
serenity. He has strangely hashed it up with party remarks.— I shall 
as carefully avoid his example as I can; while I regret the trouble of 
answering a book of voyages and travels, deficient even in the trite in« 
formation that might have been collected among ourselves. 

What can such travellers bring home 
That is not to be learnt at Rome? 
What politics or strange opinions, 
That are not in our own dominions? 
What trade from thence can he advance, 
That has not been foreseen — perchance?— 

There must be matter in the ramble worthy of investigation by the 
politician, and the mammonist to boot: and unskilled as I may be in 
such knowledge, I cannot be silent when persons more unskilful pre- 
sume to officiate as statists and geographers. It is not travellers' tales 
that satisfy an inquisitive mind now-a-days. Fabulous stories of the in- 
fluence of a river on the human voice and disposition, are out of date.* 
The tracks of commerce,— the population and products; the upshot of 
civil strife and foreign intrigue, or political issue of the pending strug- 
gle, engross all our thoughts. For information from thence we have 
now the nice fastidious palates of epicures, and will not gluttonously 
gobble up common garbage.— Causes, facts, controulling principles are 
the fare we covet. 

To you, who are almost as conversant with the works of Herrera and 
Garcilaso, of Ulloa and Humboldt, as with the constitution of the 
United States; and nearly as familiar with Spanish American geogra- 
phy as with the alleys of your own garden; — to you, I have no need of 
enlarging, and no excuse for being tedious. — Our promenade will not 
be longsome, and may agreeably (but incidentally) reflect new light on 
revolutionary measures and pretensions. — Diffident of my own previous 
stock of knowledge on part of the subject, I have convinced myself from 
authentic books, and am grateful for access to a manuscript memoir, 
besides particular annotations, by gentlemen who have had good op- 
portunities of ascertaining facts. In noting some principal points, I 
shall constantly and cheerfully defer to your steady judgment. In 



♦The water of La Plata is said to be very clear, and excellent for the lungs and 
wind, insomuch that the people who live near it are said to have very clear and me- 
lodious voices, and to be generally inclined to musick." (See Postlethwayte's Die- 
tionary, art. Paraguay, &c.) 

This is an innocent anecdote compared with some of our Secretary's, — and we 
will agree to the poet's terms; "a good traveller is something at the latter end of a 
dinner; but, one that lies three-thirds, and uses a known truth to pass a thousand 
nothings with, should be once heard, and thrice beaten." And chief of the num- 
ber is he in whose inhuman breast the destruction of a republic or of its defend. 
ers, cannot "change slander to remorse," 



Ill 

this humble exercise, I perform little more than the task of abridging, 
transcribing and translating. 

The second and third chapters of the second volume, are dedicated 
to the geography, history and statistics of the country. — It was to have 
been expected that the writer would cite his authorities in this sectioa 
of his work, especially where he dissents from other writers on a sta- 
tistical subject — a subject of which precision is the life and soul. — Did 
he march on snow, I could trace him: had he urged his chorographkal 
way among the tall herbage of the llanos, I could follow the vegetable 
wake till the bristling stalks recovered theirerectn ess: buthe has cunning- 
ly directed his stolen steps among treacherous sands which close be- 
hind him and leave scarce a vestige of his course. To scent him there 
is impossible; and I am only reminded ot a parallel in the stories I 

have read of travellers in the deserts of Arabia, of Africa, or Peru 

It resembles Ulloa's dreary journey from Tumbez to Lima, which was 
principally performed in the night, to avoid the violent reflection of 
the sun's rays from the sandy surface: and the road was distinguished 
by the bones of mules which had sunk and perished under their bur- 
dens rather than by any path, which the breezes constantly effaced by 
blowing the waves of sand to a level, or raising others on the face of 
that singular ocean, where monotony itself subsists by uniform changed 
— However, if an author explores a new route, he cannot quote prior 
authority for the satisfaction of his readers: he himself becomes the 
fountain where they must slake their curious thirst. 

He says p. 67, vol. II. that in glancing at the map of La Plata, it 
appears to be ''naturally divided into six different sections: 1. The part 
"which lies on the east side of the Paraguay. 2d, That which lies op- 
ik posite on the west side of the same river. 3. That which stretches 
"along the base of the Cordilleras," &c. &c. 

As to the first, it is proper, because we have the river a natural 
boundary on one side, and the Portuguese limits on the other. The 
second is unnatural and improper because it is indefinite: we cannot 
distinguish where there is no difference: where all is pampa, or where 
all is mountain, where every thing is perfectly homogeneous. We can 
easily discern between the side-walks and carriage-ways in our streets? 
but we cannot so easily plant or even fancy a line in the middle of the 
thoroughfare. It would be as rational to say that the horizon which 
varies at every step is a "natural" boundary because it divides the vi- 
sible from the invisible. — The prismatic colors of the rainbow are evan- 
escent, because rain and sunshine do not always exist oppositely and co- 
temporaneously;but are "naturally divided"in a philosophical sense, for 
the principles of refrangibility are eternal. Red will not be mistaken for 
violet; and the "various bow" is a partition while it lasts; but what visi~ 
blemark does the eye encounter in unvarying ©Jjuds whence the radiant 
arch is withdrawn, or in plains outstretched like the ocean? In geogra- 
phy, space is not "naturally divided" but by natural boundaries,— as by 
mountains, rivers, rocks, deserts, morasses. Some invariable thing 
constitutes a landmark; a changeable one cannot. The Cordilleras are 
fixed, and so is the river: to these our tourist must refer his reasoning t 
which is as extraordinary in trivial as in momentous matters. His move- 



112 

able boundary is unintelligible. We do not moor the wharf to the 
ship, but the ship to the wharf. The eye reposes on the definite line 
of the Alps, but is distracted in the midst of boundless Pampas. These 
in themselves form a separate division; because they are terminated by 
heights or rivers. And Patagonia may be a natural division; because 
on the North we may suppose it circumscribed by the Rio Negro or Colo- 
rado; and elsewhere by seas, streights or mountains.—Yet these chapters 
are the least exceptionable of the whole book, and show some signs of in- 
dustry, which has been thrown away for want of discrimination. 

In page 114, vol. II. he gives us a statement of the population in the 
confederate and non-confederate provinces, and at page 148, an enu- 
meration of the population in that part of Peru, annexed to the vice- 
royalty of Buenos-Ayres in 1778, and which he designates as the Au- 
dience of Cliarcus.* At present, neither the inhabitants of the United 
Provinces, (i. e. subject to Buenos-Ayres) nor those of the provinces 
in hostilities with Buenos-Ayres, nor of the provinces detached from 
Peru, and now in possession of the enemy, correspond with the popu- 
lation assigned by modern writers and travellers to those several por- 
tions of the ancient viceroyalty of Buenos-Ayres. — -If our tourist 
follows the data of anterior writers, why does he not adduce them?— 



* The establishment of the viceroyalty of Rio-de-la-Plata, which, as Funes says, 
opens an epoch in the annals of her provinces, remedied the great inconvenience 
of depending- on the government of Lima, at a distance of 982 itinerary leagues- 
It was indispensable in their hostilities with the Portuguese, to have a centre of 
authority and deliberation adjacent to the scene of action. The bbunds of the 
new viceroyalty comprehend besides these provinces and that of Cuyo, all the ter- 
ritory of the audience of Charcas. ( Funes' 's Essay on the Civil History of Para- 
guay, Buenos-Ayres and Tucuman, torn. III. chap. 12.) 

The extent of the audience of Charcas is given by Ulloa, cap. 13, book Vll. — 
"Its jurisdiction begins on the north side at the Vilcanota, belonging to the pro- 
vince of Lampa in the diocese of Cuzco, and reaches southward to Buenos-Ayres; 
eastward it extends to Brazil, being terminated by the meridian of demarcation; 
and westwardljr part of its stretches to the South Sea, particularly at Atacama.— • 
The remainder of it borders on the kingdom of Chili. — It therefore includes, un- 
der their antient extent, the great provinces of La Paz, Charcas proper, Potosi, 
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Tucuman, Paraguay and Buenos-Ayres. — By the map be- 
fore you, as already referred to, you perceive all the new provinces formed within 
the limits of the old. They are elaborately traced and described in Bland's Re. 
port; which consult, from page 11 to 31 inclusive. — The government of Buenos- 
Ayres claims dominion over an area of territory not less than 1,305,000 square 
miles, with 1,300,000 inhabitants, exclusive of aborigines. See Mr. Tagle's note, 
marked D. page 108, annexed to Messrs. Rodney and Graham's Report. He di- 
vides it into 14 provinces; but his table (page 111 — 12) is a sample of the claro- 
obscuro, completely unintelligible. — The statistical table subjoined to Bland's Re- 
port on Buenos-Ayres, removes the uncertainty, and gives a pretty correct epitome 
of the bounds, population and productions of the country, at a single view. 

For statistical purposes certainly, precise interior boundaries and subdivisions 
are not essential. — The whole space and population suffice. — It is immaterial, 
whether we have Cuyo set down, or its divisions Mendoza, San Juan and Rioja; 
whether we have Puno, or Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Mizque; — or whether this 
territory and population be distributed (as in a memoir before me) among Cocha- 
bamba, Potosi, Los Moxos and Chiquitos. — Let us but understand what an author 
means, and we shall never be squeamish about terms. 



113 

Or, if he dissents from them, why not tell us his reasons for it? He 
was only in Buenos-Ayres. — Who informed him that the population of 
that city was but 60,000? One could not learn the fact by merely re- 
siding 60 days in the town. Some have asserted, that it does not con- 
tain above 50,000 souls; others, that it exceeds 70,000. — Our voyager 
was not in the dissident or non-confederate provinces; nor in those of 
Teru Alto; from whence then did he deduce the fact of their having but 
655,000 souls, and that his grand division of the audience of Chaicas 
has 1,716,000? — He does not deign to inform us; and therefore, since 
we see him so destitute of support, we may reasonably conclude, that 
he has taken similar liberties in this part of the work as in others. — 
Let us investigate it a little farther: — 

1st. He tells us that the population of the provinces united to Bue- 
nos-Ayres, Or in other words, that of the union, obedient to what is 
there styled the supreme government, or general government of Rio- 
de-la Plata, is barely 465,000 souls. 

According to him there is a population of 190,000 not only "'not 
united," but against the union [in the Buenos-Ayres'' sense of the term] 
so that we have a moiety of inhabitants opposed to the pretended union 
who added to the numerous partizans of the system of federalism (there 
styled disunion) even among the citizens under the government of 
Buenos-Ayres, really amount to a majority in favor of federalism. He 
relates that there are such, and we know the fact from the coercion used 
to unite them blindly to the car of the capital. 

The great bulk of population in the audience of Charcas or Upper 
Peru, as given by him, is entirely under control of the royalists, and 
must consequently be reckoned out of the union. He says it rises to 
1,716,000 souls. There appears mirifical superlation in one place, re- 
duction in another: something like arbitrary invention pervades the 
book, notwithstanding the contributions levied on other books. — The 
latest writer or compiler I had seen, estimates the inhabitants of this 
great division at 1,740,000. "The Indians alone amount to 1,155,000." 
Our author did not even follow Pazos, who compiled in haste, though 
fee intended to write accurately. 

Total population according to our voyager, 2,371,000 

Population of provinces not united, 190,000 

What fee assigns to Charcas, 1,716,000 

1,906,000 

Leaves us only in favor of the Buenos-Ayrean union. 465,000 

Or, a small fraction more than one-fifth of the aggregate population. 
You can judge, my friend, whether this arithmetic justifies the preten- 
sions of the present government of Buenos-Ayres, (or the great author 
himself!) to treat and to brand as banditti the citizens, who think dif- 
ferently from a combined party of military officers, bishops, clergy and 
monopolists. At the head' of the adverse party we meet general Ar- 

Q 



114 

tigas, who appears to be seconded by Dean Funes, the historian, and 
the president of the congress of Buenos-Ayres.* 

From these very data any man of impartial judgment would infer 
the policy — the necessity of a conciliatory tone on the part of a mino- 
rity towards a majority so respectable. Moderation ought to have ta- 
ken place of scandalous and violent criminations, both in the reigning 
party there and their echo here.- — Decency and justice are indispens- 
ible in a majority: how impolitic then are indecent revilings and gross 
injustice in the smaller number! Interest prescribes conciliation. Do 
you survey the richer territory and commercial points of the east? 
They are in the hands of Paraguayans and Santa-Feans, or Oriental- 
ists, or in Entre-Rios, Con ientes or Guarani missions. How stands the 
account of possession with the va&t and diversified tracts to the north- 
west? Except a narrow stripe in the jurisdiction of Jujuy, the whole 
superficies of the viceroyalty north of the tropic of Capricorn, is held 
by the enemy. This terrestrial paradise, more important from its 
mines and other advantages, than the continent of Europe, is too po- 
pulous on its western side, to remain a province of Buenos-Ayres 
were she enabled to conquer it. Warlike as she is, she will be forced 
into a compromise. — When the rights of property and trade shall be res- 
pected, the commerce of all the upper country beyond the boatable 
branches of the Bermejo and Pilcomayo, will be attracted to the ports 
of the Pacific. Interdicts and bayonets cannot prevent what nature 
ordains. This is not a time for a solitary city, (if she understood her 
interests) to occlude mighty rivers, and harrass whole provinces for a 
monopoly. A map would teach lessons to a statesman, but I know not 
what will convert a monopolist. If those magnificent streams no lon- 
ger bear the barque of commerce, it is because the people on their banks 
will not bear tribute to Buenos-Ayres. 

2dly. The first table at page 114, is erroneous. To the province of 
Buenos-Ayres it. allots 120,000 souls, and 60,000 to the city. But, 
the population of the capital is 65,000; that of the province 125,000. 
Paraguay had been estimated to contain 180,000; and he reduces it with- 
out why or wherefore to 100,000. That of the Missions, which at the 
departure of the Jesuits consisted of 80,000 persons, is diminished to 
40,000 and arbitrarily excluded from the jurisdiction of Artigas, when 
all the world knows that the missionary towns act in unison with the 
Banda Oriental, and consequently in obedience to general Artigas, the 
commander-in-chief. In short, the statistical data which I have obtain- 
ed relative to those provinces are as follow: and it is to be hoped that 
our tourist will assign his reasons for rejecting them! 



*"His interests and feelings attaching him to Cordova, his native place, he is 
inclined towards what is called here, the federative system," p. 10, vol. II. It is wor- 
thy of note, that Cordova is a member though a reluctant one, of the existing 

union. 



IIS 

Provinces of Rio-de-la-Plata, Sfc. 

Buenos-Ayres, . 125,000 J Tucuman, . . . 85,00° 

Paraguay, . . . 180,000 s Salta, .... 125,00° 

£ rBanda Oriental, 50,000 1 ^ . f Potosi, .... 200,00° 

3 .« J Entre-Rios, . . 25,000 \ 5 % \ Charcas (proper) 230,00° 

% .%>} Santa-Fe, . . . 30,000 > < =§ ^ Cochabamba, . 270,00° 

!^ ~ LCorrientes, . . 40,000 f g ^> ■ La Paz, .... 190,000 

Cordova, . . 100,000 ; s «■ LMoxos & Chiquitos, 60,000 

Cuyo, .... 110,000* 

\ Total population, . . 1,820,000 

Number of provinces, omitting minor dis- ~] T ,. ,. 
• • , i . |. • • ° . _ ! Indicating; an excess 

tncts and subdivisions, 15 ,. ? f --,««« 

c, . • A - -o » '. on his part ot 5a 1,000 

Subject to Buenos-Ayres, 5 > , * ,. , 

J J ' _ f souls over the real 

Not united, 10 j enumeration. 

His second table is also confused and defective. The capital of the 
province of Charcas, is not Charcas, (which elsewhere, at page 121, he 
calls La Paz!) but the city of Chuquisaca or La Plata. The settle- 
ment of the city and province is united to recollections remarkable 
enough to distinguish places by events:— their conquest by Gonxalo Pi- 
zarro, who invaded the territory in 1538, and the gallant resistance of- 
fered by the Carangues, who would have exterminated him but for the 
seasonable arrival of a reinforcement, sent to his relief by Francisco 
Pizarro. The new capital was founded in 1539 by D. Pedro Jlnzures, 
on the scite of the old, and called Plata, "in allusion to the silver mines 
of the mountain of Porco, in its neighbourhood, and from which the 
Incas received great quantities of silver; keeping in pay a great num- 
ber of Indians for working them; but the primitive name of Chuquisaca 
has prevailed, and is now commonly used." (See Ulloa's Voyage, vol. 
II. page 143.) It was at the university of this city that Dr. Mariano 
Moreno, of Buenos-Ayres, completed his education; and his sufferings 
from a long and painful journey, no doubt stimulated the zeal by which 
he was signalized for promoting libraries and seminaries of learning 
in his native town.— Chuquisaca contains 18,000 souls at the lowest 
calculation, and the voyager gives it only 16,000. Its population has 
been increased; that of Potosi reduced; the first at the present day ex- 
ceeding the last.— Potosi never had above 26,000 souls: he carries it to 
35,000, notwithstanding its decline. On the authority of Morse and 
Helms, he might have placed it at 70,000, besides a train of 25 or 30,000 
pongos and mita-men. But, Dr. Moreno, who resided so many years 
within 20 leagues of it^ was better informed in this particular than a 
transient visitor like Helms, who knows more about mines than statis- 
tics.— (See Life of Moreno, page 81.)— I have read many a fable; I 
have seen the population of Potosi stated to have been 160.000 in 1611, 
and to have fallen to 30,000; and so it was gravely written, that Spain 
mustered a population of 30, 40 or 50,000,000 in the time of the Ro- 
mans! but in modern days it scarcely exceeds 10 millions. — I do not 
insist too scrupulously on the authority for a statement in itself of bo 



116 

moment. — ft is only apparent that our voyager neither follows Canete, 
nor Wilcocke. nor Alcedo, nor Frezier.— See Pazos' Letters, 139—40. 
Perhaps then, the "Voyage" has some originality about it! 

After all his endeavors at minuteness, he omits in the intendancy of 
Potosi, an enumeration of inhabitants in the two important districts of 
Chichas and Tarija. The former has a superficies of 48,000 square 
leagues, and 9 curacies, among them that of Santiago de Cotagaita, a 
place celebrated for the first battle fought between the patriots and the 
royalists of Peru. This jurisdiction produces annually (according to 
the Peruvian Mercury) from 400 to 480,000 dollars in silver, and 
§1 00,000 in gold. — The district or province of Tarija has 4 curacies. 
Of this delightful region, the Peruvian Mercury of May 15, 1791, says, 
"It would require the pen of a Fenelon to describe the serenity of its 
sky and fine temperature of its climate, the beauty and fruitfulness of 
its plains, the abundance of its springs and rivers," &c. — With all their 
amenity and advantages, I am unwilling to have the population of 
these districts annihilated. Are we to add a census of them to his ag- 
gregate of inhabitants in the Intendancy of Potosi? (He has commemo- 
rated their territory, p. 148-130.) The number of a people, however, 
being less important than thei-' quality and composition, I extract a 
few remarks on the subject from an unpublished Memoire already al- 
luded to: The author has observed the influence of castes and com- 
merce on revolutionary movements: — 

"There was a time when all Spanish America, from Cape Horn to 
California was in a state of insurrection. Peru and Cuba were an ex- 
ception to the general inarch, though Lima was not without commotion. 

"We discover the causes of its abortion in Mexico from the charac- 
ter of the revolution itself, and the condition of the country. The 
lights of education, influence of opinion and power, the resources of 
mind and force of intelligence, are almost exclusively confined to the 
capital. But, insurrection, commencing in the provinces, and wholly 
supported by a people composed in general of Indians and labourers in 
the mines, would naturally be repugnant or odious to the wealthy and 
aristocratical classes in Mexico. Warfare in the interior against the 
original regulars or Spanish reinforcements was badly conducted: the 
patriots had soldiers in sufficient or excessive numbers; but they needed 
experience, and wanted arms and ammunition, which could only be 
had from without. That country being almost destitute of ports along 
the Atlantic, this deficiency could not be remedied; intercourse with 
foreign countries being kept up through Vera Cruz, the only well-known, 
accessible port, — and that hasalways beenin possessionof the royalists." 
[Several other anchorages, if not harbors, were noted by early naviga- 
tors and settlers on the eoastj but they seem to have fallen into disuse.] 

'•From the former course of commerce, a powerful influence was 
acquired by Buenos-Ayres in Chili, which soon spread from mercantile 
interests ti/ political opinions. Venezuela, (but in a much less degree) 
enjoyed the like with respect to New-Granada. — Connected by such a 
chain, the agitation of one must be communicated to the other. But, 
in Buenos-Ayres this moral action was still more remarkable by the ne- 
cessary etfect of peculiar circumstances — vicinity and intermixture of 



117 

their respective population, — the blending of ecclesiastical jurisdiction 
(even after the revolution^ with the civil, and with the adjacent dis- 
trict. The wish to avoid the tempests of the Cape, as far as possible, 
made Buenos-tdyres an entrepot for the foreign commerce of Chili, by 
which were imported European manufactures and merchandize, ne- 
groes from Africa, [mostly destined for Peru] and yerba (matte) tobac- 
co and cotton from Paraguay, in exchange for her precious metals and 
copper. — It is evident therefore, that under present circumstances, 
when those four great territorial divisions are revolutionized, Lima too, 
which is 2500 leagues removed from Europe, cannot continue her de- 
pendence on Spain. To the N. she will be cut oft* from the ports of 
Guayaquil and Panama; — to the S. from those of Chili: or, the revo- 
lution may reach her from both sides. 

"The lower provinces of Buenos-Ayres are agricultural or pastural. 
With the exception of Paraguay and its missions, an Indian is as rare- 
ly to be seen as in Philadelphia. Cultivators of the soil are peculiarly 
patriotic; and the nature of the population is favorable to indepen- 
dence. The situation of the country, and quality of its productions 
did not require an excessive influx of Africans, which renders revolu- 
tion too doubtful or desperate in other provinces. Hardly a sixth part 
of the inhabitants are of this class. La Plata is widely remote from the 
apprehensions occasioned in Lima and Havana by a separate class, 
very formidable for their number. In her mining districts, she has 
no demand for negroes, because the [ndians alone exercise the labour 
of the mines. 

In the maritime provinces we meet with negroes, but no Indians; in 
the interior, Indians but no negroes. Considering the relative impor- 
tance of classes by their aptitude for freedom, or by their civilization, 
we may thus distribute the population of all the provinces of Rio-de- 
La Plata: 

Three-fourths of the whole — Spanish Americans. 
One fourth-part — Indians and castes." 

The causes which have so materially reduced the mineral products of 
Fotosi are circumstantially detailed in Moreno's Memoirs, from p. 64 to 
81, and might have been preferred to the conjectures in the "Voyage" 
146 — 7: for, surely we cannot imagine our author uninformed of a 
book published in 1812! — For his purpose, the scarcity or abundance 
of metals, as affected by the revolution was out of the question, because 
a simpler reason was at hand: Fotosi is in the hands of the royalists; 
and the mines were but a short time in possession of the patriots. Hence 
the exactions in I hili, and the eagerness to occupy Callao and Lima, 
by a naval and military force. — If JBuenos-Ayres can conquer and hold 
those opulent countries as fiefs, her pampa-city (as it may be viewed) 
may be the queen of the south; if not, her native and principal ex- 
ports will be hides. Under whatever power the vice-royalty falls, if 
the government protect industry by justice, the commercial resources 
of the people will be immense. 

Don. A. Ulloa, and others conceived exaggerated notions of the an- 
nual product of the argentiferous mountain of Fotosi, which for 93 
years when first wrought they estimated at 841,255,043 (lib. 7. ch. 13). 
Although they magnified the amount, little if any serious reliance can 



118 

be placed on the tables quoted by Humboldt, as exhibiting the real 
quantity extracted. (Essay on New-Spain, vol. III.) His data are inac- 
curate as the anecdotes he tells of Tupac-Amaru. Both are correct- 
ed by D. Vicente Pazos, who has given us a very honest and liberal 
book, if it be rather lacking in statistical details. He shows us, p. 144 
why the quantity of metals has never been calculated, and the impos- 
sibility of forming a true estimate of it. — We cannot in enquiries af- 
ter truth counterbalance one excess by another, — for, it is apt to lie 
between extremes. A mineralogist and metallurgist has said that six 
times the usual quantity (or §31,000,000) might be digged annually 
from the bowels of this mountain; yet I confess I cannot easily credit 
the practicability of it. 

Before Dr. Moreno returned to Buenos-Ayres he visited this famous 
mountain, and gives a melancholy picture of the oppressions practised 
on the miserable mitayos, or native conscripts, above 12,000 of whom 
were annually subject to this unexampled hardship.* Notwithstand- 
ing the silver spoils continually scooped from this grand depository, 
nature is constantly reproducing them — as experience has demonstra- 
ted. It is the opinion of practical metallists, that by more judicious 
methods of excavation and refining, the returns of Potosi are capable 



* The law prescribing the regulations of the mita was disregarded in most in- 
stances. Properly, the Indians were only bound to work a stated number of* al- 
ternate months, from 18 to 50 years of age — in Peru it amounted to one-sev- 
enth of their time, they being divided into 7 classes. The mitayos were to receive 
wages adequate to their subsistence; but they were doomed in practice to the 
greatest wretchedness, and suffered both for want of food and clothing. The pur- 
chased negro was well treated in comparison with the forced conscript. Half of 
them died and all were enfeebled by unwholesome labor in ill -aired subterraneous 
pits.- all were unsheltered by government, without incentive, without amor patrice 
without country (in fact) or religion. Moreno tells us that religion was called 
in to vitiate the unfortunate beings whom policy had degraded. The clergy ac- 
commodated their doctrine to the creed of the country — and men were abandoned 
to barbarousness, forgetting their ancient creeds and dissembling the present. — 
Curates, sub-delegates, caciques, all constrained them to perform menial offices 
of every sort, without wages- above 100,000 of the natives are destined to this 
private domestic service around Potosi. Dr. Moreno never forgot the impression 
of thi« scene.- it inflamed his philanthropic bosom with a desire to emancipate the 
Indians from all oppression. The virtuous bishop of La Paz, touched with com- 
passion at the spectacle of their wrongs and misfortunes used to assert, that he 
■would cheerfully pass the remainder of his life in dismal Moorish dungeons to avoid 
the sad affliction of beholding the Indians in servitude -without pay, forever subject -with' 
out relief to the caprice of men ivho destroyed their liberty and usurped their property. 
(p. 64 to 71. "Vida Sec. de Moreno.) 

The editors of the Edinburg Review make a just remark on this compulsory 
service.- "A forced conscription for national defence, though liable to great abuse, 
is on every principle a justifiable measure; but a forced conscription for the pur- 
pose of digging riches from the bowels of the earth for the profit of another, is 
the extremity of cruelty and injustice." 

It has been surmised by some, that the first revolutionists in Buenos Ayres and 
Chili attempted too much in favour of humanity. If they were mistaken in their 
means, we must deplore it, and forgive an error on the side of right. — What are 
we to hope from the present powers, who leave the mass of episcopal property 
and clerical privilege untouched, and couple old abuses to new aristocracies? 



119 

of being increased to six times their amount, in the most prosperous 
period. Nearly forty years ago the mines were laid under water, and 
the richest veins abandoned. Don Miguel Rubin de Celis, a scientific 
officer in the marine, was dispatched to Potosi by the viceroy, Vertiz; 
he made a survey of the mountain and formed a plan for draining oft' 
the water by a subterraneous aqueduct or conduit from the base of the 
cerro to the bottom of the pits. — His project was not completed. 

Another accident which retarded and sometimes stopped mining op- 
erations, was the dependence on Spain for supplies of quicksilver from 
Almaden. In time of war this source was cut off; yet the government 
discouraged the opening of quicksilver mines situated within the ter- 
ritory of the viceroyalty. One of these exists at Coabilqui, in the 
province of Omasuyos and jurisdiction of La Paz; the second in the 
mountain of San Miguel belonging to the town of Nuestra Senora de 
Fe, in the missions of Paraguay. — This cerro is not laid down on the 
map — but it is situated as I am informed, to the south east of the river 
Parana, and south of the Iguacu, in the margin of the mountains of 
the Guarani missions, near the frontiers of Brazil. 

The first of these was formerly worked very successfully, until pro- 
hibited by the superior government of Lima, who would not suffer it 
to come in competition with the quicksilver of Guanca Belica, (or 
Huancavelica) whose principal shafts and galleries have been since in- 
tentionally destroyed; the works now scarcely yielding 4 to 6000 quin- 
tals of mercury per annum, which previously afforded 10,500. That 
©f San Miguel has never been opened, notwithstanding the commands 
of the court, to make an estimate of the expenses &c. A sample of 
the quicksilver had been sent to Spain in a crystal flask: it was com- 
pared withtheiquicksilver of Almaden, and reckoned of abetter qual- 
ity. — Instead of erecting works on the spot, the colonial government 
thought of transporting the product of the mine to Potosi by opening 
a communication through the province of Los Chiquitos and forming a 
colony on the opposite bank of the Paraguay, which was to serve as a 
port to the vessels who should carry it, &c. By intrigue and private 
interests the treasure has remained intact. 

These statements are drawn from the official reports of the viceroys, 
who were bound to communicate to the Spanish cabinet, every impor- 
tant incident during their term of office. (Vida y Memorias de Mo- 
reno, 73 to 81.) 

This information but proves that provincial jealousy or private cupi- 
dity, has fortunately tended to preserve metallic treasures in the bow- 
els of the mines more securely than money in a strong box: that great 
and unwasted resources will remain at the disposal of the independent 
governments: that the unreduced representative and real standard 
of value will soon come in aid of commerce, multiply exchanges, (or 
quicken circulation,) and extricate nations from the curse of a spuri- 
ous currency. Genuine mercantile means will be provided from South- 
America to foment agricultural iudustry, and stimulate arts and 
sciences. Consequently, the financial powers of our government &c. 
will be proportionately advanced. — In throwing out of circulation, or 
rather, in removing the obstruction of an unnecessary and injurious 



l&O 

pile of paper-eoinage, we may restore equal rights and specie payments 
together. 

I know, my friend, that the stockholders in our unconstitutional 
banks (for all are unconstitutional) are very liberally disposed towards 
the unprivileged community! "Gentlemen, only give us boundless con- 
fidence, and we will issue a boundless currency: but if you return us 
our own drugs, — why, — -to swallow all the phvsick which the patients 
reject, would really sicken your paper-doctors. — Trust us! trust us! 
gentlemen; — have faith in our paper-medium, and reverence our vested 
rights." — This is the customary language of a highly-favored class, for- 
tified in immunities and incorporations, Leave us unmolested, say 
they, and we'll supply you with hoards of money. 

Inferior tradesmen likewise, I say, speak in their appropriate language: 
(for, if there are superiors, we must have inferiors.) — Listen how the 
sheep-seller in the romance sounds the virtues of his flock: — "They 
are meat for none but kings and princes; their flesh is so delicate, so 
savoury and so dainty, that one would swear it melted in the mouth.— 
I bring them out of a country where the very sows in their styes (God 
be with us!) are fed with orange flowers, at the time of parturition. — 
These sheep are lineally descended from the very family of the ram 
that wafted Phryxus and Helle over the sea, since called the Helles- 
pont. — Now, I think on't, over all the fields where they urinate, corn 

grows as fast as if tli3 Lord had • been there; they need neither 

be tilled nor manured. Besides, man, your chemists extract the best 
saltpetre in the world out ot their urine. Nay with their very dung 
(with reverence be it spoken) the doctors in our country make pills 
that cure seventy-eight kinds of diseases, the least of which is the evil 
of Saint Eutropius of Haintes, from which good Lord deliver us! — 
Do but mind the wonders of nature that are found in those animals 
even in a member which one would think were of no use. Take me 
but these horns and bray them a little with an "iron pestle, or with an 
andiron, which you please, 'tis all one to me;, then bury them where- 
ever you will, provided it be where the sun may shine, and water them 
frequently, in a few months I'll engage you'll have the best asparagus 
in the world not even excepting that of Ravenna." 

Whether Doctor Rabelais's pills are better than those of the bank- 
doctors, you can decide. If one fertilize the soil, the other enrich the 
emitters; but both may be alike empirical. The fleecy flock may vaunt 
a higher uedigree, but not (as I think) a higher rank than the multitude 
who suffer themselves to be fleeced of rights and riches ad libitum. 

Every citizen of the community is entitled to equal protection, and 
consequently, under a free government exclusive grants of every des- 
cription are inadmissible. — If we have wandered from the path of con- 
stitutional orthodoxy, let us countermarch and regain it. Freedom of 
commerce and industry cannot subsist with privilege — the fruitful cause 
of all the political misery under which nations groan. — I admire free 
commerce, and dread to see it either enslaving or enslaved. I like to 
see the genuine merchant flourish, but I detest every species of mono- 
polists: A republic cannot foment any of them without jeopardy. — I 
am pleased with forensic oratory; but I would not have the barrister de- 



121 

graded into a barrator: I would not hold out a. premium to chicane by 
the ambiguity of law. It is in short, a great crisis in our body 
politic, as in the destiny of South-America, and I pray most fervent- 
ly, that our fellow citizens may seize the moment of fate with a giant's 
grasp. 

I ought to crave your pardon for the digression — if I were not con- 
vinced of your principles. But, having grazed the subject of curren- 
cy and confusion,] would refer you to one instance of folly analogous 
to our own — succeeded by a simple and sanative experiment, which is 
perfectly in our power. 

A Spanish monarch, unacquainted with the principles of money, 
once adopted the odd expedient of introducing copper-coin into South 
America, to circulate at an arbitrary value far beyond its intrinsical 
worth. — Prejudice taking sides with justice, rendered roval edicts abor- 
tive, and banished that fecund source of mischief.— Owing to the resist- 
ance of the natives, who in less than a year disdainfully buried in the 
rivers and lakes more than a million of dollars in that metal, the pro- 
ject was abandoned.— Economists have branded the attempt as grossly 
impolitic and prejudicial in a country like Peru, whose principal pro- 
ducts consist of gold and sUver.--To debase them .by a competition 
with another token would be to abate the ardor of those who are en- 
gaged in extracting them from the mines; and would revive the just 
grounds on which the erroneous policy of Spain was condemned when 
she prohibited tissues of gold and silver. (See ^'Present State of Pe- 
ru," 4to page 115, for a dissertation written in 1791.) Tutored by this 
essay, the Spanish government prudently substituted quartillos, or 
fourths of reals, a smaller denomination of silver coin. Subdivision 
of metal is always preferable to aft adulteration of them, or to a super- 
abundance of paper. 

Were a full report of the property sacrificed, or of persons ruined 
by dipping in bank-credit for the last seven years, to be made out and 
published, —we would stand amazed at the revolutions in fortunes and 
happiness effected by paper-money. Such a monument of misery 
would not fail to stir up compassion. We do not contemplate ship- 
wreck with composure. Though the credit system, which occasioned 
so much dilapidation cannot be instantly levelled in the dust, it is to 
be hoped, we may gradually discourage it until all its evils disappear 
with the restoration of a metallic basis. That foundation and the struc- 
ture I hope to see rising on it, cannot be found in the course we have 
lately steered. 

If I remark so freely on the disorders of society, and the mercantile 
embarrassments to which I have referred, it is because I sympathize in 
the misfortunes of the worthy, and poignantly feel the impolicy which 
would heighten the malady instead of eradicating it.— It were unkind 
to harrow up our aberrations retrospectively without a motive. — We 
have looked in a wrong direction for relief. We must repair our shat- 
tered fortunes by South-American trade; and we ought not, cannot stand 
indifferent to the political destiny of the finest portions of the globe.— - 
Where our means of wealth are deposited, there let us treasure up 
some share of our affectien. We ought to be the natural guardians of 
R 



1S2 

liberty, every where,— but peculiarly so with respect to the people of 
our own continent-— More substantial reasons of policy than political 
and commercial welfare cannot exist. Nor can there be ottered to the 
consideration of states a stronger motive to action, unless it be that 
of national existence itself. — I do not pretend to handle this great sub- 
ject in an unstudied letter as it deserves to be treated: I shall present 
an outline of its prominences,— such as strike on the sight like the peaks 
of Orizaba or Chimborazo. The most superficial observer must see 
our means of prosperity reflected (as in a mirror) from those of South 
America. Our commissioners- Reports, especially those of Bland 
and Poinsett, with the Documents attached, ought not only to be read. 
but remembered, and reduced to practice. These form an excellent 
groundwork for the statesman, and may exempt me from repeating 
them particularly — to a gleaner and thinker like you. 

Considering that space of country which forms the provinces of Bue- 
nos- Ay res, Santa-Fe, Corrientes, Band a Oriental and Paraguay, we 
survey an immense territory fertilized by the majestic rivers, Negro, 
Colorado, La Plata, Uruguay, Paraguay and Parana; the two first con- 
siderably to the south, the three last to the north of Buenos-Ayres. 

Buenos- Ayres (proper) from its spacious plains, produces hides, tal- 
low, horns, furs, flour, corn, wool, salt-beef, horses and mules. She 
can collect an indefinite quantity of salt chrystallized on the ponds of 
the S. W. Vessels used to put into the Rio Negro (of the S.) to be sup- 
plied with it: but the colony there has suffered great decay since the 
revolution. — I believe it is broken up. 

The Oriental Band a produces timber, charcoal, wool, besides articles 
similar to those in the preceding paragraph; and her soil is capable of 
yielding every vegetable growth except that which is strictly tropical. 
To the northward of her, and at a very short distance from the Uru- 
guay, in the territory of her present ally, is situated the copper and 
quicksilver mine already mentioned. 

Paraguay yields tobacco, yerba, (matte) cotton, brandy, sugar, mo- 
lasses and timber, &c. 

Corrientes is analagous in soil, and may also furnish good coffee. 

Look at the situation of these territories, in respect to the Atlantic, 
and the interior, and judge of their commerce, whenever indepen- 
dence, freedom and security, shall develope the industry and awaken 
the entet prize of the people. 

It is almost immaterial in a commercial view, to remark, (at present) 
that to the southward of Buenos-Ayres proper, 20,000 square leagues 
of territory in a very agreeable part of the temperate zone, and water- 
ed by the navigable rivers Negro and Colorado, are yet without inhabi- 
tants. ' 



i 



123 

COMMERCE OF BUENOS-AYRES SINCE THE REVOLUTION IN 1810. 

Mfmports. Exports. 

From Englaijr—7Q vessels, C To do.— Hides, horns hair, 

with merchandise of ev- -^ skins, copper, precious me- 

eiy species, valued at $4,500,000 (_ tals and specie,* 5,600,000 

Chili. Copper, mats, c Matte, domestic fabrics 

horses, gold and silver, 1,344,000 I and European goods, 2,150,000 

Brazil. — Sugar, coffee, c „. , „ , .. „ .• \.„ , ' '' 

rice, &c. 2,590,000 ? Hldes > flour > tallow, &c. 1,434,000 

U. States. — Arms, gun-""| fi 

powder, naval stores, ' „„. ftn C Hides, skins, jerked beef, J Qnn nnn 
India goods, plank and f 2 > j00 > 000 £ ta ll ow and copper, \ 890 ' 000 

household furniture &c J J 

$10,734,000 $10,074,000 

* 780,000 hides were ordinarily exported before the revolution; 1,200,000 since 
the establishment of free trade (so called/) 

Public Property and revenue of Buenos-.lyres before the revolution, $4,825,000 
Property of the Jesuits sequestrated by the crown, 1,800,000 
' of deceased Orphans, 750,000 

2,550,000 
Proceeds of this property at 6 per cent. 153,000 



$4,978,000f 

| Of $5,243,315, amount of exports in one year, the principal item is specie, 
amounting to 4,000,000, — derived from the interior, and from Chili. 

Public Funds and Revenue, after the revolution, 5,525j000 

By confiscation as above, 1,800,000 

By do. belonging to "old Spaniards," 1,300,000 

Reprisals on Spanish trade by privateers, 4,500,000 



$7,860,000 
Revenue at 6 per cent. 471,000 



Amount, 5,996,000 

Comparative prices before the free trade. Since the free trade. 

Calico, fine, imported, from 2 to $3 per yd. From 25 to 50 cents per yard 
Do. common, 1 25 to 2 do. 18 to 25 cents do. 

Hides, exported, 1 00 to 1 25 2 30 to $3 

So that the article of consumption was received with a charge of 
700 per cent, and their produce was sold at a loss of 150 to 800 per 
cent. A South-American was obliged to pay as much for a single yard 
of calico before the revolution as he now pays for eight, and hardly 
procured for two hides, what is now bartered for one. 

You are in no danger of estimating the profitableness of a trade from 
the money-prices solely; as there are conjunctures when a nation ought 
not to depend on foreigners for any essential supplies. — The effect of 
this free trade was an incalculable incentive to a people unaccustomed to 
it. The same reduction of foreign goods, and enhancement of domes- 
tic, which created a sensation so agreeable at Buenos-Ayres, were 



, 124 

equally sought by other provinces. She however, did not think it 
equally good for them. 

The mountainous region (as contradistinguished from the plains) 
whose ridges are rich with precious ore, and its elevated valleys are 
the seats of exhaustless fertility, commence at the Montanas de los 
Yuares, to the east of Santiago del Estero, about lat. 28 south. This 
jurisdiction is nearly skirted on the west by the mountains around Ca- 
tamarca, as on the north by those in the jurisdiction of San Miguel. — 
The country designated as the internal provinces or Upper Peru, might 
(from mere altitude and configuration) be said to^xtend from the bounds 
just mentioned on the south to the limits of Carabaya on the north about 
lat. 13. In these lofty tracts are the foci of earthquakes and volcanoes 
unknown in the Pampas. But, according to geographical lines, and 
established territorial bounds, that part of Upper Peru included in the 
viceroyalty of La Plata, begins at Jujui (even to the north of Salta,) 
and stretches to the demarcation of Peru Proper. This highly diver- 
sified space, so abundant in vegetable and mineral wealth,— is the resi- 
dence of Peruvian Indians, whose ancestors were formerly subject to 
the Incas, and civilized by their mild theocratical policy. The abori- 
gines still cherish the tenacious remembrance of their ancient condition 
notwithstanding the lapse of time, and the moral concussion of con- 
quest. This territory is divided into seven principal provinces, — La 
Paz, Cochabamba, Charcas (prnper.) Potosi, and Santa Cruzde la Si- 
erra, besides Moxos and Chiquitos; which are again subdivided into 
twenty -five for as some maintain twenty-one) districts. 

Those provinces afford gold, silver, quicksilver, iron, lead and tin. 
There are numerous minerals, some quarries of alabaster, and (in La 
Paz,) an emerald mine. Providence too has supplied the remoter parts 
with salt-springs, as in Cica-Cica &c. 

Many of the higher vallies yield barley, maize and wheat; and vine 
and olives come to perfection, with the finer fruits of Europe.— Oca- 
papa (or indigenous potatoe,) quinoa, a species of rice, the co*co (or 
betel,) indigo, cacao, tabacco, cotton, banana, sugar-cane, vanilla, gin- 
ger, agi, (or guinea pepper) are in proper scites cultivated with suc- 
cess, for food or barter. Balsamic gums, medicinal plants, and pre- 
cious timber are scattered over the mountains with profusion. — The 
best species of Cinchona, i. e. red bark,* is found in La Paz, the cin- 
namon is frequent; and the camphor-tree is said to exist there also. In 
some situations the nopal invites the docile, ingenious natives to rear 
the cochineal insect. 

Among the animals are the Llama (or little native camel,) guanaco, 
alpaca and vicuna, — the three latter valuable for the fineness of their 
wool, well known in commerce. Sheep are in plenty; and with the 
skins of the fox and chinchilla, augment the articles of traffic. 

"There are in this sub-province (Pacages) 70 mines of silver which 
are worked; there is also a mine of emeralds." Pazos, 173. If a sin- 
gle district of La Paz contains so much metallic wealth, we may safely 



■I 



^Cascarilla roxa. 



125 

imagine that the quantity throughout Upper Peru is prodigious- — though 
it is impossible for us to form an estimate of it. This author conjec- 
tures that about 818,000,000 are annually extracted in Peru proper and 
in these internal or upper provinces of Buenos- Ayres. When we are 
favored with the researches ot M. Hsenke, and other learned tourists in 
that region, it is probable that much new and curious data will display 
some "secrets worth knowing." At present it is impossible to assert 
whether the unwrought quicksilver mines of the internal provinces are 
comparable in richness to the famous mercury-mine of Guanca Velica 
(Huancavelica) in old Peru. In 219 years, the estimated value of mercu- 
ry extracted from it (viz. 1,040,452 quintals) amounted to 867,629,396 
and 2 reals. The product would probably have been much greater, 
had the mine been wrought by private individuals instead of being con- 
ducted by a governor on royal account: for Philip II. either bought it 
or dispossessed the proprietor, D. Amador Cabrera, in September, 
1570.— Neither have I the temerity to say, in the present state of in- 
formation, (much as has been published on the subject.) that the metals 
in the seven intendancies of Buenos-Ayres, equal those of old Peru. 
In the eight intendancies of Lima, Tarma, Truxillo, Huamanga, Cuz- 
co, Arequipa, Guantajaya and Huancavelica, there were numbered in 
1791, — 69 serviceable gold mines, and 784 of silver; 4 of quicksilver. 
4 of copper and 12 of lead: at the same time that 29 of gold and 588 of 
silver had, by various accidents and casualties been rendered unser- 
viceable. (See Present State of Peru 4to.) 

Certain it is, that Peru produced annually in coined metals at the 
beginning of the present century, §6,682,000 at least. But, Mr. Tor- 
res estimates her yearly extraction above eight millions: and this pos- 
sibly a moderate appraisement. 

If the internal provinces rival old Peru (so to name it for distinc- 
tion's sake) in the precious metals, it cannot be a very eccentric guess 
which fixes their total joint product at gl 8,000,000. 

There has been much speculation on the future routes of commerce 
of the upper provinces; but nature has formed the channels in which 
it will float, unless violence obstruct them. From the south of San 
Miguel as far north as the valley of Tarija, products will be carried 
down the Vermejo, Salado and Dulce rivers, and seek a market in Cor- 
rientes, Santa-Fe, or Buenos-Ayres. — The commercial outlet of the 
country from Tarija to Chayanta, and most probably as far as Cocha- 
bamba, is the Pilcomayo and its branches: for althoughthe little river 
Cochabamba runs through the west district of that province, and winds 
around Santa Cruz de la Sierra into the Guapahi and Mamore, yet it 
is far more probable that the inhabitants will carry their commodities 
to the nearest branch of the Pilcomayo, and thus transport them to the 
Paraguay, than think of sending them into Brazil. They will not take 
that course in our day — if they ever do. Cochabamba may possibly 
find a vent for lighter articles towards the Pacific; the heavier ones 
she will not convey over the two great chains of the Cordilleras, that 
can only be scaled by Llamas and mules. The discovery ot a more 
practicable path in these formidable barriers would be worth a mine 
to the people. — A home market for their cattle, grain, roots, wine, 



126 

poultry and fruits, is furnished by the mines, where great quantities 
are consumed. This internal consumption is an important stimulus 
to agriculture; formerly the amalgamation-works &c. took off many 
ot the cloths manufactured in the country. The Indians in Cocha- 
bamba and Cuzco are ingenious in spinning and weaving cotton and 
wool. — Paria, Carangas, Oruro, Berenguela, Chucuyto, Arcolla, Lam- 
pa, Asangaro, and Omazuegos or Omasuyo, lying chiefly between the 
western and central Cordilleras, their inhabitants must climb the litto- 
ral ridges, and descend to the ports in Arica, Moquehua and Arequipa 
in Lower Peru. Nature has facilitated their internal intercourse from 
north to south by the Paria and Desaguadero, the outlets ot the mag- 
nificent lake Titicaca. — La Paz proper and Cica-cica will naturally en- 
deavor to communicate with the ports of the Pacific from Arica to Pis- 
co. Their foreign goods will be received through the same ports. The 
inhabitants < ; with their precious metals, will purchase directly of fo- 
" reign merchants every thing they want, without waiting for a yard of 
" cloth to reach them by travelling hundreds of miles across the pam- 
" pas of Buenos-Ayres!!" 

It is said indeed that England carried on an active commerce with 
these provinces (during the last war with Spain,) through the ports of 
Cobija, Iquique, Arica, Ilo, Quilca &c. but it is not equally feasible 
"that Cuzco and Cochabamba cau alone supply all Peru with wheat:" 
They produce it abundantly, I doubt not: and Guarochiri has abun- 
dance of coal in its bowels; but it cannot bear the expense of carriage 
to Lima. — Mauy possible things are not done.— We for instance, could 
manufacture goods sufficient for domestic use, but we do not. Chili 
has supplied the western coast to the north of her, with wheat for a 
hundred and twenty-five years past, especially Lima and other towns 
in Low (or Maritime) Peru, the capabilities of Cuzco notwithstanding. 
What fine roads will effect when made, I eannot tell.— Cochabamba, 
having on her north the high mountains in which the Beni has its 
source, is very unlikely to empty her granaries in Lima.* In fact, the 
royalists have had quiet possession of those provinces, of oue always, 
of the other for many years; and yet, flour has been carried from Bal- 
timore to Guayaquil, both around Cape Horn and by Cruces and Pa- 
nama, and there sold too at a handsome piofit. This cannot continue, 
if Chili be ever relieved from her grievous oppressions, and permitted 
o cultivate her soil and resources uuder a free government.-— Indeed 
we do not desire its continuance. We lose much by the ruin of Chili. 
The circumstance just related corroborates the opinion of judge Bland, 
and unanswerably overthrows the conclusions of Mr. Pazos, who seems 
to assume the samenesss of production and transportation: but, until 
''faith" can literally "remove mountains," level precipices, and make 
a carriage-way among declivities where the fleet guanaco and vicuna 
are afraid to bound, it is useless to discuss the question of fertility or 
infertility.— Trees may "weep amber," and forests of cinnamon per- 
fume the air; the fruits of the cacao, vanilla and guayava may ripen and 



*See Judge Bland's Report on Chili, p. 115— 6^-and Pazos' Letters, p. 228—9 



£ 



127 

fall; — balms and resins may distil from native groves of the tropical 
mountains; — be their abundance and excellence what they may, it is 
communities of wild birds and monkeys, not of merchants, that will 
feast or fatten on those bounties of nature — until avenues are opened 
for the sweet-scented spoils to reach a market. The reason I am sure, 
I need not farther expound: Monkeys and birds go to the fruits — the 
fruits do not come to them. Mountains now-a-days would not budge 
for Mahomet himself. 

Peru Proper, we are told, is the feeblest, and with the exception 
of its mineral wealth, the least important of all the provinces.-- Voyage, 
vol. I. page 22. Again: "Peru contains about a million of inhabitants, 
more than one half composed of the spiritless Indian peasantry; of the 
other half the greater part is made up of negroes and mulattoes. — 
Scarcely a fifth are whites, and the number of monks and nuns is great- 
er than in any other catholic country in the world, and may account 
for the slow progress of population and the dissoluteness of morals.— 
The staple manufactory of Peru is priests; and of them a sufficient 
number is made to supply all South-America." ibid. 

Perhaps our author reckoned by Quipos, whose knots and colors per- 
plexed his arithmetic! for there is a little, and exceedingly little truth in 
his assertions about Peru, but less decency in the manner of telling it. 
Its superficies is noc equal to Ihe quondam viceroyalty of Buenos-Ayres; 
yet it is incomparably superior in importance to Buenos-Ayres proper 
and all her actual union. It contains more learned men than any section 
south of the isthmus, hardly excepting Santa Fe de Bogota; and is, geo- 
logically considered, the most extraordinary tract on our globe. Her 
mountains and vales eminently exemplify the sublimest facts of the 
Plutonian theory, and in a manner reconcile the principles contested 
by the advocates of the Neptunian and Volcanic systems; which may 
now be considered as severally unfounded, but jointly true.* Ages ot 



* Regarding the important and laborious experiments of Sir James Hall, above 
500 in number, (See Transactions of H. Society of Edinburg, vol. 5-6) as veri- 
fying 1 the principal positions of the Hutlonian theory, the veriest tyro of science 
would be warmed to enthusiasm towards a country that bears witness in her Cor- 
dilleras, and their granite and metalliferous veins, in her whole colossal system 
of chrystallization, &c. &c. to the grandest truths of geology. Mr. Hall has de- 
monstrated the formation of rocks by igneous fusion under great mechanical ve- 
straint. He has even given a table of the compressive force that with proper 
heats effect the purpose. With a pressure of 52 atmospheres he formed lime- 
stone; marble, with that of 86; and calcareous spar, when complete fusion 
was caused under that of 173. By the joint agency of heat and compression 
the sand would be changed to sandstone; shells to limestone; animal and vegeta- 
ble substances to coal. Other bodies, according to their degree of fusibility, &c. 
ferruginous, alkaline, or earthy, would be injected in a state of fluidity, into every 
crevice by an upward pressure; or would congeal in the internal rents, in form of 
basalt, porphyry, greenstone, and other substances known by the general name of 
whinstone- — A pretty intense heat would give to sand the requisite tenacity and 
toughness for primary schistus; and in one still higher, the sand would be entirely 
melted, and be convertible by sldw cooling into granite, sienite &c. 

By the continued action of heat (continues Mr. Hall) on a great quantity of fluid 
matter, and in whicli, notwithstanding the great pressure some substances would 
be volatilized,, a powerful heaving of the superincumbent mass must have taken 



128 

ages (perhaps) before this earth was fitted for vegetable and animal 
life, the internal force that heaved the mountains, the internal fire that 
fused their contents, and the superincumbent waters &c. whose pres- 
sure compelled the imprisoned elements into new forms and combina- 
tions in the great laboratory of nature, when carbon was prepared to 
be chrystallized into the diamond, and lime and carbon were combined 
into limestone and marble &c. Sec. &c. — all these arcana, 1 say, whose 
very contemplation transports the mind so far beyond the bigotted in- 
ventions of after times, or the dirty, avaricious, party contentions of 
the day. — have left their living mineralogical proofs profusely scatter- 
ed over Peru. — Yes, my friend, if the sectary look below the surface of 
the globe, or judiciously upon it. he will learn his ignorance and grow 
modest: and if our loquacious "Secretary" had thought for an in- 
stant of what he was scribbling, he would have expunged it forever. 



place, which by repeated efforts succeeding- each other from below, would at last 
elevate their strata into their present situation. Hence the extraordinary incli- 
nation of layers once horizontal, and mountains 20,000 feet above the ocean, once 
immersed in its bed. 

Professor Playfair in his "Illustrations" and in his Biographical Account of 
Dr. Hutton, has given a more enlarged view of that great man's ideas. The 
spoils or wreck of an older world appeared every where visible in the present; 
and innumerable evidences convinced him that the strata which now compose our 
continents are all formed out of strata more ancient than themselves. 

Pursuing substances through all their ! changes, — emersion from the ocean — 
elevation above the earth's surface, — decomposition in the atmosphere by me- 
chanical or chemical means; their transportation by divers to the sea, and deposi- 
tion there, he formed the grandest conceptions of creation: "On comparing the 
first and the last of the propositions just mentioned (says Playfair,) it'is impos- 
sible not to perceive that they are two steps of the same progression, and that mi- 
neral substances are alternately dissolved and renewed. These vicissitudes may 
have been often repeated; and there are not wanting remains among mineral bo- 
dies that lead us back to continents from which the present are the third in suc- 
cession." We see neither the beginning nor conclusion. "In the continuation of 
the different species of animals and vegetables that inhabit the earth, we discern 
neither a beginning nor an end; and in the planetary motions, where geometry 
has carried the eye so tar both into the future and the past, we discover no mark 
either of the commencement or termination of the present order. It is unrea- 
sonable indeed to suppose that such marks should any where exist. The Author 
of Nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, 
carry in themselves the elements of their own destruction.- he has not permitted in 
his -works any symptom of infancy or old age, or any sign by which we may estimate 
either their future or their past duration." 

Most of the facts stated by M. Breislak are corroborative of the Huttonian theory; 
and as Peru exhibits even more striking illustrations of the doctrine than Italy and 
Sicily, it would have been a more excusable digression, if our tourist had passed 
from its mineral wealth to its geological structure, than to have hopped every 
moment from geography and commerce to political factions. 

Our tourist, who has very imperfect notions of Peruvian strength and conse- 
quence, may learn the true causes of her weakness in point of castes of popula- 
tion, from studying in Solorzano, the operations of the Spanish laws, and reading 
the history of mal-administration. — All defects,are comprized in — departure from 
equality and justice. What only suffered neglect elsewhere, suffered outrage in 
the Spanish colonies. — Peru has sufficient numerical population to form a respec- 
table state, were they cemented by common rights^ instead of being diverse in 
origin and mutually estranged by institution. 



12& 

Though he alludes to Sobreviela's travels and labors, he seems uncon- 
scious of the geographical extent of Peru! He has given us a map of 
it, but leaves it without limit to the north and north-east. The receiv- 
ed one he might have ventured to put down with more credit and safe- 
ty than he has risked a hundred of his sayings. — This viceroyalty, 
stretches along the coast of the Pacific, from Tumbez about 3 degrees 
25 minutes, to the river Loa or Loxa, between Arica and the desert of 
Atacama, about 21 degrees 25 min. south latitude,* and embiaces an 
area, as you will perceive, of no less than 555,900 square miles. If 
the best and latest maps have any accuracy in them, this measurement 
holds good. I know not why Humboldt has said, or been made to say, 
that Peru has only a surface of 30,000 square leagues of 25 to a degree, 
— not near one half its superficial contents. I have often had occasion 
to remark that this illustrious man is always precise and profound when 
he observes, calculates, and reflects fur himself, — and almost uni- 
formly mistaken when he adopts the data of others. — Hence his errors 
on the produce of the mines, (especially of Potosi,) on population, and 
perhaps relative to the particular effect of South American indepen- 
dence on the price of labor, &c. &c. — But, this great man's learned la- 
bors can bear the subtraction of a few miscalculations, and still be 
immortal; when, a single touch dissolves the frail fabric of the dull 
compiler, or the vicious inventor. 

The region between the western Cordillera and the ocean is styled 
Low Peru (or the vallies;) the residue, High Peru. The diversity is as 
striking as thatof two different worlds — between the sandy vallies where 
it never rains, and summits wrapt in perpetual snow. But every one 
knows its geographical character, — the arid tracts and rugged mountains 
that stretch almost from one extremity to the other, with fruitful vales in- 
tervening. "Throughout, the breaks and val'ies which enjoy the bene- 
fit of irrigation, present to the view an extensive range of delightful 
plains, replete with cities and towns, with a highly salubrious climate." 
Chili and Peru are respectively and emphatically called the "country 
of old men." 

Low Peru is agreeably cooled by the southern breezes, which (as it 
is remarked) passing over the frozen climes to the south waft along 
some of the frigorific particles from those gelid regions. Floating mists 
present a curtain to exclude the ardour of the sun for six months in the 
year. These mists tend to fertilize arid spots that would otherwise 
be barren; the humid fogs called garuas being a substitute for rain. 

The author of the "Present State of Peru" gives us other reasons for 
the slow progress of population and agriculture, besides the number of 
priests, which is doubtless a nuisance exeiy where. — "The rural opera- 
tions of sowing and planting, as well as domestic employments, have 
constantly fallen to the lot of the negroes." Such was the seductive 
influence of pride and prejudice that it was reckoned disreputable or 

♦Formerly its southern boundary on the coast, was, or was represented to be, at 
Merro Moreno, still farther southward; but the intermediate space between Loxa 
and the Morro, including the port of Cobija, is hew assigned to Buenos Ayres, 

s 



130 

infamous for white men to till the soil.* Under this false standard of 
worth they loathed employment of which a Roman general would have 
been proud. Indolence begets indolence: "Bad, uneven roads togeth- 
er with the delays and expense of carriage almost entirely obstruct the 
internal circulation of this kingdom, and are so many obstacles in the 
way of agriculture." To discover a remedy where it was so much 
wanted, the Academical society (some of whose members wrote the ad- 
mired essays in the Mercurio Peruano) proposed a gold medal &c. in 
1791, to the author of the best dissertation on improving the roads of 
Peru, and similar ones of silver to the essay of secondary merit. None 
was offered except one from Chachapoyas, in the mountains, so indiffer- 
ently written, that its author obtained neither medal, ring, nor chain of 
silver or gold. 

Peru has her principal riches buried in the earth, alum, copperas, 
ochre, chrystals; basaltes, sulphur, cope, (a black naptha,) copper, lead, 
iron, some tin, and platina, "and lastly and pre-eminently gold, and 
silver." 

Her vegetable products are also important, and may be incalculably 
augmented in her east and south-east provinces. — Both species of cin- 
chona*, (cascarilla rooca and arrollada,--rei\ and quill bark) are gather- 
ed in the mountainous parts of Huanuco, Tarma and Jauja. Vines thrive 
very well, and the tangled forests of olive-trees are the wonder of the 
traveller. No other fruit-tree with so little culture yields so immense 
a profit. "Non ulla est oleis cultura," holds almost literally true in 
Peru, as in ancient Italy. — The olive plantations (Ulloa tells us) ap- 
pear like thick forests; in height and magnitude exceeding those of 
Spain. The trees are never pruned; by which means their branches 
become so interwoven, that the light cannot penetrate through their 
foliage. 

She commonly exported sugar, honey, vicuna wool, cotton-cloth, salt, 
rice, in her trade with the adjacent provinces, which was very consi- 
derable. For example, Lima used to send cotton, tanned hides, shoes, 
hats, baizes (chiefly made at Cuzco,) and sugars to Guayaquil and Pa- 
nama; importing cacao, coffee and wax via Paita. 

Arequipa and Cuzco once carried on a gainfultrade with the provinces 
of Buenos-Ayres, Potosi, Chuquisaca «5fc. to the value of $2,034,980 
piastres or dollars. Arequipa sent brandies, wines of Locumba, maize, 
flour, cotton, oil, pimento and sugars: Cuzco furnishing cotton-cloths. 



* For upwards of thirty years after the treaty of Utrecht, (in 1713) England sup- 
plied Peru with negroes. It has been urged that this privilege together with the 
capture of Jamaica, about the middle of the previous century, and the depreda- 
tions of the buccaneers, severely injured the commerce of Peru. After 1748 the 
register-ships via Cape Horn succeeded to the trade of the galleons by Porto-Bel- 
lo and Panama &c; 

fit is not material to repeat that 'Jesuits' bark was discovered by the Spanish 
colonists in 1638. While count de Cinchon was viceroy of Lima, his lady was re- 
lieved from a terrible fever by some barks sent from Loxa. In 1639 he carried 
some of it with him to Eui'ope, where Linnaeus named it Cinchona Officinalis. — 
Some had been likewise transmitted to the cardinals at Rome; where it passed 
for a while by the title of Cardinals' powder. 



131 

baizes and other woollen fabrics, (woven by the Indians and Cholos,) 
sugar and grain. — They received in return, specie, cattle, tasajo, wool, 
tallow, cacao, copper, tin, mules, sheep, black cattle, hides, wax and 
soap. This trade was greatly in favor of Peru, although thirty or for- 
ty thousand mules were purchased every year. The channel of sup- 
ply has been since deranged, by the great importations into the La Pla- 
ta of foreign goods which have crushed the manufactures of Cocha- 
bamba, and shaken those of Cuzco. It must suffer other changes. I 
make a note of it to remind us of the commercial staples of Peru. Of 
late, this trade had become more lucrative even in the midst of revolu- 
tion. — Pazos observes, that iC the interior commerce between Upper and 
Lower Peru has been calculated at $6,693,513 annnally." 

Ever since 1693, Peru depended on Chili for wheat and corn, and 
received tallow, copper, hides &c. &c. from thence. The corn-trade 
originated with an earthquake which desolated the valleys of Lima and 
overwhelmed Callao, and the balance has continued in favor of Chili 
ever since. The intermediate ports of Iquique, Arica, Ilo and Aranta 
imported wheat from Chili. Lima imported timber as well from Guay- 
aquil as from the island of Chilue, which notwithstanding its proximity 
to Chili, was politically annexed to the government of Peru. — She ex- 
ported wines, brandies and oil to Realejo and Sonsonate in Guatemala, 
and imported thence, indigo, pitch, pimento, cedar planks and brazil- 
wood! _ 

It was only with Chili and Panama that the balance was against her. 
Her exports to other provinces in 1789, laying aside the metals and 
internal trade, amounted to 82,679,942 — and her imports $1,954,750 
leaving a balance in her favor, of &725.192. 

1 entertain no doubt, therefore, that were we to regard the metals 
coined in Peru, as part of her capital rather than that of Spanish pro- 
prietors (to whom much of the coinage belongs) we must estimate her 
resources for trade at ten millions of dollars, at the very lowest calcu- 
lation. M. Torres has calculated the commercial ability of Spanish- 
America on the true principle— her amount of exports, — whether he is 
accurate in the facts or not. What strengthens my opinion is a dis- 
sertation I have seen on the abuse of free commerce, after 1783, when 
in one fiscal year from September 1785 till September 1786, sixteen 
vessels are stated to have anchored in Callao with cargoes valued at 
24,000,000 dollars. At the same time the averaged annual consump- 
tion was but 4,000,000. fTo this sort of excess we are no strangers!] 
The inundation producea great embarrassment; and the glut was com- 
pleted by similar importations for several consecutive years. The 
fact is, that her internal trade was disturbed by the unusual influx.— 
While her metals and other exports were not less than eight millions, 
we see that her habits required but four millions of foreign merchan- 
dize from Europe. I leave out of view the importations from the Phi- 
lippine islands. As her exports however will be the guage of her im- 
ports, (when all her mines &c. become Peruvian capital) we may ima- 
gine the worth of her commerce. Her numerous commodious harbors 
north and south of Lima, from Paita to Iquique inclusive, will one 
day be crowded with the flags of all nations. 



1%% 

In 1791, the population of Peru was estimated at 1,400,000. At the 
present day, it cannot fall short of 1,800,000 souls; of whom about 
900,000 are Indians and Cholos (Indian castes por salto atras;) there 
are about 500.000 negroes and mulattoes: leaving about 400,000 whites 
and persons claiming the honor of a white skin!— I do not confide in 
the pretended census of 1575, giving 1,500,000 souls to Peru proper, 
nor in the lame and later sketch of Humboldt. I follow the latest ma- 
nuscript account I had seen, though I believe that Peru contains two 
millions. The proportions or classes are not well ascertained; but, any- 
one can frame a table of these on the data in Poinsett's Report, from 
page 21 to 30. Though the statement be antiquated, and the number 
too low, the relative parts may be received. 

The higher and favored caste in Peru, are remarkable for their spright- 
liness and affability "A good taste, urbanity and a social disposition are 
the hereditary qualities of every Peruvian." — Polite literature was as- 
siduously cultivated in the universities and colleges of Lima and Cuz- 
co; and, with respect to one class, "knowledge is general throughout 
Peru, as well on account of the natural quickness and penetration of 
its native inhabitants, a* through their fondness for study." Some phy- 
sical science has been disseminated latterly from those seats of learn- 
ing that were formerly devoted to law, divinity and the classicks. Ul- 
loa speaks with admiration of the men, and with rapture of the ladies 
of Lima, — extolling without bounds the manly frankness, courage and 
scrupulous honor of the one, and the wit, graces and attractions of the 
other. — The Limanese, says the writer, are too proud to brook haugh- 
tiness, but repay mildness with affability. — "They are charmed with 
gentleness of manners, and a few instances of kindness make a lasting 
impression on their minds. They are remarkably brave, and of such 
unblemished honor, as never to dissemble an affront received, or give 
one to others." I do not insist on classing with this description of men 
who seem to range to the very top of the scale of human sensibility, ho- 
nor and chivalry,— such amusing rampallions as commodore Porter* 
saw at Tumbez, &c. — (every country has its quotient of such gentry:) 
nor do I contend that the Peruvians may not have lately been changed 
for the worse, as previously for the better. Feuds, party, long posses- 
sion of power, or a mercantile spirit, often metamorphose a class, if 
not a people, almost imperceptibly. — The polished, gallant and literary 
character of modern Peruvians (judging of all by the Limanese,) is most 
strongly contrasted with the rough brutality of their turbulent ances- 
tors. If history did not show some analogies, you would doubt whe- 
ther the present generation there are descended from such forefathers 
as the mutinous, murderous, sordid, barbarous and bigotted conquer- 
ors, t "It was not to be expected" (to quote an interesting manuscript 



*See Porter's Journal, page 203 to 206 inclusive. 

flf the moderns still retain a tincture of their honor and intelligence, as observ- 
ed by Ulloa and Humboldt, I should regret to see them conquered and despoiled 
by the cut-throats of Buenos-Ayres- I had rather see them liberating themselves; 
but their swarms of negroes and castes may render them powerless and fix their 
fate. Slaves may indirectly enslave their masters. 



133 

before me) '"that they who robbed the Incas of their empire, should rea- 
dily agree about the distribution of the spoil, or be speedily cured of 
those habits of avarice and licentiousness which they had contracted in 
persecuting, torturing and pillaging the Indians. Their tumults and 
insurrections from the time of Almagro and Francisco Pizarro, down 
to the extinction of Gonzalo Pizarro's rebellion by Gasca, confirmed 
their military spirit. — The masters of Peru were neither philosophers, 
like the founder of Pennsylvania, nor cultivators content to seek a slow 
and tranquil fortune by the exercise of their industry. They were 
mere soldiers, and soldiers inured to the campaigns of Charles V. in 
Italy. The maxim promulgated by the commissioner of this prince, for 
appeasing Pizarro's rebellion, discloses at once the sentiments of the ca- 
binet and the disposition of the subjects— Que&e, la tierra por el Empe- 
rador, mi senor, y gobiemela el Diablo. — "Let my master, the Em- 
peror possess the territory, and the devil may govern it," were his me- 
morable expressions. 

"Lima ruled nearly the whole southern continent from Panama to 
Paraguay and Magellan; and what constitutes to day the opulent states 
of Santa Fe, the provinces of Rio de la Plata and Chili, formed then 
only so many subdivisions or departments of that superior government. 
This monopoly of authority was naturally followed by the concentra- 
tion of riches from all the channels usually opened by influence and 
power in the commercial as in the political world. Lima became the 
residence of the opulent, and the fashionable resort of the great; the 
centre to which all were attracted to enjoy the riches accumulated in 
in other parts of the viceroyalty. From these circumstances arose the 
nobility and aristocracy, that even remain when the fortunes that gave 
them existence have vanished; — and this is a principal, perhaps chief 
cause, that disinclines her to the revolution after her neighbours have 
embraced it.* 

"When Lima had lost these exclusive advantages, she still retain- 
ed the enormous capital which she had acquired by them, and directed 
it to other objects that should maintain her luxurious splendour. The 
metals extracted from her mines, her rare and elegant wools; that es- 
pecially of the vicuna, with divers productions ot the field and forest, 
are not only sufficient to secure her a considerable, but. an enviable com- 
merce.— In 1791 her exportations to Cadiz without reckoning other ports 
of the Peninsula, were §4,780,837: 2 £ reals, in silver and produce (See 
Mercurio Peruano;) and the average annual exports for Cadiz are cal- 
culated at §5,000,000. — The nature of her interior and external com- 
merce is well understood: but, the revolution has almost annihilated 
the last, and lessened the first perhaps one half, by interrupting her 
relations with Santa Fe, Chili, and Buenos-Ayres. 

"The present condition of Peru is obviously transitory— at least it 
has no aspect that betokens permanence. It is no longer (in reality) the 



*There is probably a stronger reason, — dread of the blacks, on account of the 
numerical inferiority of the whites. The influence of the hig-her clergy would be 
secured, as lately in Buenos-Ayres and Chih, by tak ng- them into partnership 
with military usurpers, the newly-made upstart nobles, and the old<?r titulados. 



134 

war oi" Spain against her revolted colonies. Lima as hi, ally of Spain is 
at war with the rest. Her ally can give little assistance. With the de- 
struction of her feeble squadron she will probably fall. --Should her neigh- 
bors fail to coerce her, she must soon revolutionize herself. San Mar- 
tin and Belgrano, in set proclamations to the people of Peru, have plain- 
ly assured them that they would not force liberty upon them! This 
promise would be grateful to the hearts of the upper classes; yet these 
may prefer holding the reins in their own hands, especially when they 
behold the devastation of Chili by her military friends from Buenos- 
Ayres.*' 

Chili so much admired for fecundity of soil and benignity of cli- 
mate, — described so frequently from the time of the conquest, — more 
recently by Molina and Robertson^ — and still later by Poinsett and 
Bland, — this delightful country, I say, excites no new ideas; nothing 
novel can be written upon it, excepting her probable destiny, — her po- 
litical importance among the nations of the new world, and her com- 
mercial relations with all. — Its position and productions render it ines- 
timable in our trade with the western coast, in our whale fishery, and 
in our commerce with China and the islands of the Indian ocean. Fruits, 
plants and grain of almost every species flourish luxuriantly in her in- 
exhaustible soil. "Nor has nature, says Robertson, exhausted her boun- 
ty on the surface of the earth; she has stored its bowels with riches. 
Valuable mines of gold, of silver, of copper, and of lead, have been 
discovered in various parts of it.*' — And the amiable dispositions of tiie 
inhabitants are described by all as worthy of the earthly paradise in 
which they reside. 

Some reckon the longitudinal extent of Chili from 24 to 37 degrees, 
others to 45 degrees of south latitude, and it varies in breadth between 
the Andes and the ocean from 40 to 230 miles. Including the territo- 
ry south of the Bio-bio and the island of Chiloe, it contains an area of 
about 178,100 square miles. t It is a territory far more considerable for 
its numberless advantages of soil, climate, mines, and commerce, than 
for its superficial contents. In this space lie the district of Baldhia, 
&c. to the south, and 13 provinces north of the Bio-bio— Copiapo, Co- 
quimbo, Quillota, Aconcagua, Melipilla, Santiago, Rancagua,. Calcha- 
gua, Maule, Itata, Chilian, Puchacav, Huiiquilemu. Its population in 
1814, was 1.200,000. 

The principal ports of Chili are, Copiapo, Guasco, Coquimbo, Ton- 
goy, Papudo, Herradura, Quintero, Valparaiso, San Antonio, Topocal- 
ma, Navidad, Astillero, Talcahuana, San Vincente and Baldivia. — All 
these are not ports of entry. — (See Bland's Report on Chili, page 86 to 
88, inc. alid Document No. I. communicated by the secretary of state 
for the Chilian government.) 

I sfea*fi now conclude this simple communication with a summary ex- 
position of the value of South-American trade to us — premising, that 
we must take into the estimate that commerce with Europe in our na- 



•j-Tvo other maps measure, — the one 185,000, — the other, 194,600 square miles. 
I prefer the lowest calculation. Writers who give it 378,000 square miles surely 
forget its mean breadth! 



135 

uve produce, as tobacco, &c. by which we procure cargoes suitable either 
for Buenos-Ayres, or the western (Pacific) coast. This is valuable. 
We must also calculate the continuity of the voyage, beginning in our 
ports, and follow our freight to Europe, (i. e. France, Holland, or Ger- 
many,) from thence around Cape Horn, — up perhaps to Columbia ri- 
ver, after trading at Conception, x\rica, Guayaquil, &c. &c. and from 
the Pacific with a freight of seal-skins, sandal-wood, &c. for Canton. 
I pass over the commerce we may drive in the various islands of the 
Indian ocean. I am studious not to magnify our interest in Spanish- 
America; and I shall rather present you with the result of three years 
diligent observation, than with details of facts — save where the subject 
exacts particularity. 

Mr. Pazos says, in page 241, "The precious metals can be obtained 
in Peru, for several commodities which, I am informed, can be export- 
ed cheaper from the United States than from any other nation, such as 
coarse cottons, ships, leather, furniture, hats, castings, nails, carriages, 
and some other articles." — Yes, he might have added, many other arti- 
cles. — He justly observes, that if we become manufacturers, as we must 
to a reasonable degree, we may find a lucrative vent for our goods in 
Peru, &c. 

(List of Exportable Commodities for South-America. J 

We can profitably export to various parts of Spanish-x\merica:~ Flour 
and biscuit, lard, soap, onions, oil, rice, drugs, beer, cider, porter and 
peach brandy; butter, cheese,shad, codfish, herringand mackerel; potand 
pearl-ashes; Windsor chairs, sophas aud other household furniture; — 
staves, plank and lumbei; carts, wagons, gigs; manufactures of copper 
and brass; rafters, joists, masts, spars, pullies, and frames for ships; cut 
and common glass decanters; powder and shot; hats, nails, hinges, 
screws, saws, axes, spades, cannon shot, bar-iron, hoops and castings; 
pistols and muskets; saddlery, boots, shoes, and dressed skins; tar, pitch, 
beef, pork; letter and writing paper; candles, coverlets, escrutoires, 
towels, table-cloths, wrought tin, morocco and common leather; cordo- 
van, &c. — And I am confident, that any Yankee trader could make the 
list a third longer. 

Were Britain in our situation, (and let us suppose her in \i) she 
would not suffer her people to be thrust out of a market that will en- 
large from year to year: nor would she cripple the proper industry of 
the middle and northern states. If she were as fond of liberty, as of 
wealth and empire, she would say: — "The manufacturer shall be pro- 
tected as well as the farmer. Can a whole nation flourish, or even siib- 
sist, by raising raw materials for a foreign nation? no; it is absurd: and 
therefore, we will -plant the manufacturer by the side of the husba7id- 
man. One part of a nation ought not to be as a colony to another part. 
No, that were unjust, and would teach this section to domineer, — that 
to truckle. Besides, two markets are better than one, and three are 
preferable to two. Our prosperity, our strength, our existence shall not 
rest on contingencies. Our revenue shall not be trusted to winds, 
waves, foreign whims and casualties: Internal commerce, domestic cir- 



130 

culation, and internal taxation, shall relieve us from uncertainty. — 
In the body politic as in the natural, the heart and its pulsations must 
be within it — the vital fluid must be first propelled from the centre to 
the extremities, not from the outside to the inside. It were a rare mon- 
ster truly, whose heart, arteries ami circulation were out of the body — 
aye, at some distance from it.— Ml sorts of industry must be cherished." 

It will be recollected, that a taste prevailed in most of the provinces 
for German, French and India goods; but the two former classes are 
partially superseded by English fabricks — the policy of England always 
supporting her commerce, and her commerce promoting her policy. 

To the Atlantic provinces, it is safe in our circuitous traffick, to ship 
Catalonia wine and sherry, (the former in pipes) and other wines in 
bottles, — as well as almonds, figs, raisins, olives, and anchovies. 

From the most impartial examination of all the estimates, or facts 
which /could gather from books, or manuscript statements, I am deci- 
dedly of opinion, that the South-American seas and market (with the 
branches, as heretofore hinted, in Europe, the Indian ocean, ^c.) will 
yield us an annual return to the following amount, or upwards: — 

Whale-fishety of the Pacific, . . . gS,000,000 

North-west trade and branches, . . . 3,000,000 

Chilian trade (with European and E. Indian,) 2,500,000 

Buenos-Ayres,* 3.000.000 

Venezuela and New-Granada, . . . 5,000,000 



16,500,000 

Supposing Peru were added to the catalogue of independent states, 
it would open a market worth a million and a half, — giving us a com- 
merce of 18 millions, southwardly of the Isthmus of Panama. Its ex- 
istence will depend on the achievement of independence; its extension 
on the principles of the new political institutions which are to succeed 
the old. 

Our whale fishery (with its adjuncts) is rather underrated, the more 
certainly to avoid exaggeration. In 1818, New-Bedford and Nantuc- 
ket had 72 vessels of all classes employed in it: their aggregate ton- 
nage was 17,158 tons, and navigated by 1,330 men. Seybert observes, 
that in 1806 this fishery was at its maximum, and amounted to 
3,116,000 dollars. But it is yet to be tried under new relations, whe- 
ther the profits of 1806 will be viewed as the maximum. — Our patron- 
age of the fisheries was prudent: they "constitute the best nursery for 
that hardy race of citizen seamen, who feel the love of country, and 
are therefore willing and able to maintain its rights, and they are also the 
sources to which commerce must look for its defenders." (Statistical 
Annals, 338-40.) 



* In this valuation, Buenos-Aj'res is regarded as an emporium or entrepot, from 
whence merchandise may be transported in settled times to the internal provin- 
ces. — As a consumer, she herself is rather inconsiderable, but her market will be 
worth seeking nevertheless. 



137 

I do not pretend however, that fishermen or farmers or merchants 
should have exclusive encouragement: that would be unjust as impoli- 
tic. AH on land cannot be cultivators nor shopkeepers; and we shall find 
it the wisest policy to foster domestic manufactures and internal com- 
merce. — It is these that insure independence, comfort and stability to a 
people. It is these that will enable us to banish the destructive and 
fraudulent system of loans, funds and banks, and to rely on the cheap- 
est taxation — I mean a small direct tax. Afford the people the means 
of paying plain and palpable contributions; and when they understand 
their true interests, they will ask to be taxed openly and not covertly. 
They will dismiss the great brokers, who for one loan exact a mort- 
gage of revenue (and rights in some measure) for twenty years, and 
who under color of saving a nation from taxes, burden it with grievous 
taxation. Internal taxes are internal strength — indirect contributions 
the sign of inherent weakness.— 'By domestic manufactures we may 
likewise increase our commerce with South America. Governments 
owe protection to every part. — For this policy you have the word of 
Dv. Franklin, and the experience of the world. 

"Industry in all shapes, in all instances, and by all means, should 
"be encouraged and protected: indolence by every possible method 
"rooted out. 

"All that live must be subsisted. Subsistence costs something. He 
"that is industrious produces by his industry, something that is an 
"equivalent, and pays for his subsistence. He is therefore no charge, 
"or burden to society. The indolent are an expense." 

"It was an excellent saying of a certain Chinese emperor, — "I will, 
"if possible, have no idleness in my dominions; for if there be one man 
'•idle, some other man must suffer cold and hunger." — We take this em- 
peror 's meaning to be ''that the labor due to the public, by each in- 
"dividual, not being performed by the indolent, must naturally fall to 
"the share of others, who must thereby suffer. 

"Whatever can contribute towards procuring from the land, and by 
industry (i. e. manufactures) a produce wherewith other nations may 
be supplied, ought highly to be encouraged." {Franklin on Commerce, 
#c.voi. IV. p. 159-60.) 

I think, sir, that our fellow-citizens of the southern states cannot 
object to this doctrine any reasonable argument. — Let them employ 
their slaves in raising tobacco, cotton, rice— whatever they please:— but 
let them not insist on sending every man, woman and child, old or 
young, robust or decrepid, elsewhere, to labor in the field. It is often- 
times augmenting the lump without augmenting the value: "Why should 
they labor for that which is not bread?" There may be a market for cot- 
ton (however precarious,) and none for wheat. It is enough in all con- 
science, (if not too much) that the population, who possess neither 
rights nor volition for themselves, are made to confer a preponde- 
rance of political or representative power; but it would "out-Herod 
Herod" if their labor and employment should be a rule for those of 
the northern, middle and western states — regardless of soils, climates, 
habits, interests, rights. — / appeal to reason, my friend; reproach and 
dissension are my abhorrence in fair topics of discussion. 
T 



138 

The New England-men are'specially interested in the market, the 
whale-fishery, the carrying-trade, the varied supplies, and Consequent- 
ly in the independence and liberty of South-America- Why do they 
not shake off their lethargy and their prejudice, and vindicate their 
own interests with those of South-America? 

Of Mexico, (including Guatamela, Yucatau, and New-Mexico) I cal- 
culate not commercially or specifically at preseut, — though capable of 
becoming an empire in herself. With a population of 8,200,000 souls, 
or upwards, so advantageously situated for intercourse with other na- 
tions, she will soon force herself on their notice. "The vast kingdom 
of New-Spain, under a careful cultivation, would alone produce all 
that commerce collects together from the rest of the globe, sugar, co- 
chineal, cacao, cotton, coffee, wheat, hemp, flax, silk, oils and wiae. It 
would furnish every metal, without even the exception of mercury. 
Superb timber and an abundance of iron and copper would favour the 
progress of Mexican navigation; but the state of the ports" &c. on 
the Atlantic oppose obstacles. These will be lessened under an inde- 
pendent government; or rather, — ports now disused through a fearful 
policy will then be the resort of merchant vessels. — To understand 
the importance of the internal provinces we must read the perspicuous 
memoire of Arispe, (read in the Cortes); his name will forever reflect 
credit on his country. 

Mexico however has no advantage in point of fertility or commer- 
cial situations, over Venezuela, New-Grenada, or Chili: she falls short 
of them in various respects, as ports, fertility of soil, and regularity 
of climate.— Dreary barrens do not occur in them to any similar de- 
gree as in Mixico, from the spread of "muriate of soda and lime, 
nitrate of potash, and other saline substances over the surface of the 
soil." A few such "efflorescences," only are met in the northeast of 
Chili; but amply compensated by the exhaustless fecundity of her 
plains. Nor is Chili so liable to have her grain and maize destroyed 
by unseasonable frosts, and is for other reasons of incalculable advan- 
tage to the commerce of our country.* See Humboldt's Essay on 
New-Spain, book I. chap. iii. and book II. chap. v. 

I have likewise excepted Cuba from my estimate, because by an ex- 
ception to Spanish policy its ports are become regular marts for 
140,000 barrels and upwards of our flour, and pork 6cc. &c; and the 
worth of that vent is familiar to all our merchants. By an official 
statement dated atHavanna, the 31st of December 1819, it appears that 
of 1229 vessels which had "entered the port of Havanna, from the 1st of 
January preceding 616 (more than half of the whole) were American." 
We owe this intercourse to the insurgents of the continent. Spain 
could not seal up that queen of islands, in the present state of the con- 
tinental provinces: the inhabitants would not be put under lock and 



*Chili is invaluable to us as a protection to our Vf halers, and an everlasting store- 
house of fruits, refreshments, and provisions. An American officer, there, who 
retired from the naval service, not long since purchased a vessel, and obtained an 
exciusive nghi to fish for whales in the bay of Coquimbo, has been so fortunate 
that, according to recent accounts, he has acquired a fortune in a single season. 



139 

key. Aided by necessity (an auxiliary very apt to become principal! 
Ihey have thrown open the "insular Bastille," and never will they close 
it permanently again.— It gratifies the liberal heart to contemplate the 
rapid progress of letters and science in Cuba. I have just seen the first 
volume of a work on physical science published very recently at Hava- 
na, by Don Felix Varela, a professor in the college of San Carlos. — 
This "Philosophical Miscellany" is accompanied by a pamphlet con- 
taining a prospectus of the course of lectures and experiments.— You 
will hail the "glad sign"— -of priests deserting mummery for philosophy. 
---I hope, that the dawn of this glorious light is the harbinger of inde- 
pendence, both to Mexico and Cuba.— Improvement is unusually great 
in this island: it is probable that the population (hordes of slaves in- 
cluded! amounts to 600,000 souls. — The entire statistical returns have 
not reached me; I have only the census for the city,* from which you 
may infer much. 

Never was there a moment more pregnant with fate than the present; 
— never an occasion so full of interest commercial and political. "The 
commerce of Spanish America, (says Torres) is very interesting to all 
nations, on account of two essential considerations. First,— Because 
that country consumes [or will consume] yearly the value of one hun- 
dred millions of dollars in articles of foreign manufacturing industry. 
Secondly,— Because it is there and only there, that all nations can obtain 
with facility those precious metals, which have become so necessary 
to trade throughout the world, and particulary with Asia; to sustain the 
credit of that paper-money which is now so generally adopted; and to 
pay the balance of commerce when unfavourable." On these accounts^ 
we admit, that "the United States, more than other nations, have a 
powerful interest in an extensive participation of it."— We shall be 
faithless to ourselves, if we do not obtain our full proportion of it. 



* Abstract of the statistical account of the population of the city of Havana in 
the island of Cuba, in the year 1817, formed and published by orders of that go. 
vernment on the first of Aovember, 1819. 

Total amount of the white population, .... 37,885 

Do. of free people of color, 21,372 

Do. of slaves, : . 24,341 

Ecclesiastics and nuns, 477 

84,075 
Extraordinary population. 

Regular troops and militia, • . . . 10,567 

Negroes imported from Africa, (to one port) . : . , - 24,476 

119,118 
Transient population. 
Crews and merchants in 1040 vessels arrived that year, . . - . 29,971 

Permanent and transient population. . • . 149,089 

A general statement of the whole population of the island of Cuba was to ac- 
company this, and must be published in a short time. 



140 

If Great Britain were not jealous of our growing capacity to rival 
lier in the commerce of Spanish-America, why would she resort to ev- 
ery expedient to deprive us of it? to plant thorns in the way of our 
mutual approach to strict friendship and commercial relations? — Why 
would she put her whole diplomatic magazine of artifice in requisition, 
in order to alienate the South-Americans from us if she did not espy 
palpable resources among us for a southern trade? — Why would she 
wage a rancorous "war in disguise" against us in Venezuela, in Buenos- 
Ayres, in Chili, as in every quarter of the globe, if some prenotion of 
our intercourse with South-America had not entered her brain? — She 
calculates, that a comparison on our part between a lucrative trade 
with South America and a losing one with Europe and India, will wean 
us from the latter. In a word, the enmity of Great Britain proves that 
she foresees our real interests better than we ourselves do. This is the 
simple truth; and, I know, you would spurn affected delicacy and po- 
litical prudery as the weakest and worst of all policy. — Plain-dealing 
is a jewel, a republican virtue worthy of our government, lovely in it- 
self — but how adorable, when contrasted with the guady attire and 
waving plumes, the artificial complexion and studied graces, the fetid 
breath, the rotten carcass, and meretricious arts of polished dissimula- 
tion! Surely we cannot be ashamed to adopt, to avow and pursue in- 
flexibly, an American policy. I want no war with "principalities and 
powers," but a moral, politic and intellectual one. The prudential 
warfare (if I may so style it) we cannot avoid, without assimilating 
our principles to those of monarchical governments. — An American 
policy, congenial with the republican *sentiments of the Declaration 
of Independence, must be our chart and compass. Without steering 
a steady course, we shall neither inspire friends with confidence nor 
enemies with respect. — Let our ground be that of principle: — then we 
can be liberal towards all who heartily entertain our principles: but, if 
we draw the line of distinction on personal grounds, we exclude prin- 
ciple for avarice, ignoble jealousy, or inhospitality. At all events, let 
our policy be purely American — and such I believe it will be. — "Why" 
asked a gentleman the other day — "Why should we be content to sail 
in the wake of England, like those petty scavenger-birds, that follow a 
ship (poor parasites!) to pick up crumbs and grease?" I know this 
Avas never intended; and I am confident we shall begin to ply to wind- 
ward, — leaving our secondary, leeward station forever. 1 allow for 
past difficulties that needed "wary walking." 

"The trade of nations (says the author of the manuscript memoire 
already cited) cannot be truly estimated without considering the ele- 
ments which compose them. Old countries, overstocked with inhabi- 
tants, are very differently situated from a youthful state. In one, po- 
pulation, arts and commerce are seen stationary; in the other they are 
advancing to their zenith. This has many of her resources unspent 
and untouched; that has measured the full limits of hers. Population 
depends on the means of subsistence; commerce is circumscribed by 
bounds of consumption and ability for payment. To speak more in 
the mercantile idiom: Exportation will finally regulate importation, as 
no nation can continue to consume more than she produces.— In some 



141 

European states, population and commerce can advance no farther. 
Such is not the case of South-America. Doubling her population eve- 
rv quarter of a century, (or 25 years,) she will double her capital and 
mass of trade, until her products diminish, — which cannot happen 
for ages." 

Passing over a series of reasoning, on the classes of inhabitants &c. 
/'very able indeed, but more abstruse than useful,)— I resume his obser- 
vations nearer the point in hand: — 

"The aggregate population of Spanish-America has been calculated at 
fifteen millions of souls by the majority of authors. On this assump- 
tion, a proportionate representation was claimed in the late Spanish 
cortes for that great section of the Spanish monarchy. Later writers 
extend the calculation to nineteen millions — It must in candour be ac- 
knowledged that great uncertainty accompanies this kind of estimates 
— though they are less arbitrary than those which have been formed 
respecting the population of Asia, of Africa, or the whole habitable 
globe.— Fix the actual amount as we may, the South-Americans pos- 
sess the ability of augmenting their commerce to an extent almost in- 
conceivable. Were the past trade of South -America a rule for the 
future, I must maintain that it remains unascertained. Neither the 
total extraction of metals nor the importation of foreign merchandize, 
could be precisely known — the latter by reason of the contraband trade; 
the former from a temptation to elude the fifths, &c. and from the incal- 
culable nature of customary perquisites in which miners were indulg- 
ed. But, perhaps a sufficient approximation has been made to accura- 
cy in the estimate of population and exportation. From a comparison 
of every computation in my possession, I deduce the following 

Table of Population for Spanish America. 

Sauls. 
Mexico, including Guatemala and Yucatan, . . . . 8,200,000 

Cuba, 600,000 

Porto- Rico and the Spanish part of Hispaniola, . . . 185,000 

Venezuela, 1,000,000 

New Granada, 2,500,000 

Peru,* 1,800,000 

Chili, 1,200,000 

Buenos-Ayres (including all the old viceroyalty.) . 1,820,000 

Total 17,305,000 



"When she is tranquillized, the exportations of Spanish-America, 
will speedily rise to the estimate of Mr. Torres, or §99,840,000 pet- 
annum. — If that accurate calculator has undervalued the products of 
Peru by near a couple of millions, he has (I think) magnified the ex- 
portations of Buenos-Ayres and Chili. At this day, owing to the un- 
settled state of affairs; the consumption of foreign luxuries and commo- 



* I have seen her population estimated at 2,000,000. and one writer states it 
at 3,000,000. 



142 

dities of all sorts, cannot exceed 86,525,000 dollars, or 5 dollars pet- 
head. Col. Poinsett asserts that the value of exports from Spain to 
the colonies in 1778, was 500 millions of reales de vellon, or 25,000,000, 
and that pf importations, 804 § millions, or 40,225,000 dollars. This 
was forty -two years ago. In the interim, the population and resources 
of America have been more than doubled; civilization has advanced, 
and the people have imbibed a greater relish for foreign commodities. 
The rate of consumption might therefore be calculated at 6 dollars per 
head, if the country were undisturbed. Under all circumstances, I 
believe my estimate is correct." 

To prove the ability to be developed, I need do no more than refer you 
to Poinsett and Bland's Reports, — the former from page 14 to 20 inclu- 
sive. Mr. P. says, that, "In the hands of freemen, sensible of its ad- 
vantages, and under an enlightened government, Chili, from the num- 
ber and variety of productions which yield the raw material of every 
sort of manufacture, has within herself the means of greatness; and 
from the number of its harbors, and great extent of coast, might carry 
on an extensive and lucrative commerce with the intermediate ports, 
with the viceroyalty of Lima, the Philippine islands, the East-Indies, 
and China." The former part of these observations is applicable to 
every section of Spanish America; the latter to Peru, New-Grenada and 
Mexico, because of their respective products, and possessing ports on 
the Pacific. 

All agree in the general importance of this commerce. — It is pecu- 
liarly important to us, from the losing game we have played for several 
years past. In the Statistical Annals, page 276, et seq. we have an 
exhibit, that ought not to be forgotten: Dr. S. calculates the annual 
average for a period of 7 years, from 1795 till 1801 inclusive. Bad as 
the result then was, it is become decidedly worse from the change 
effected in the attitude of nations, exclusion from some points, and in- 
creasing disproportion with others. 

BALANCE OF TRADE, 

"With Prussia, Germany, Sfc. in our favor, the former, $ 75,360, the 
latter, §7,468,231. 

Italy, a balance for us, of §779,594, per annum. 

China and East-Indies, against us always, 2,083,088 a year. 

Spain and Spanish West-Indies, against us, above 2,000,000. 

Portugal and Madeira, against us, more than 500,000. 

French West-Indies, against us, 6,223,303 per annum. 

British-American colonies, in our favor, 205,189; 'with Ireland* 
in our favor; but with Great Britain and Ireland, Sfc> nearly 
16,000,000 against us! 

France, in our favor, 1,183,586, per annum. 

Denmark and her dominions, in our favor, 69,199. 

United Netherlands, ever in our favor, 3,047,217. 

Dutch East-Indies, against us, 1,844,175. 

Gibraltar, in our favor, 99,782. 

Cape of Good Hope, in our favor, 58.830 — but England has ac- 
quired that colony. 



143 

Russia, nearly 1,500,000, always against us. 

British East-Indies, always against us, 2,517,494, per anuum. 

Manilla and the Philippines, against us, 114,003 a year. 

Spanish-American colonies, against us, 196,306. 

North- West coast and South Seas, in our favor, 183,372. 

With all the world collectively, against us most prodigiously. 

From this glance, without running into a hundred branches, you per- 
ceive how laboriously we have been employed from pole to pole, scrap- 
ing up treasure, only to fling into the ungrateful lap of Great Britain, 
"our natural enemy." 

Although we are now at a nominal peace with England, it is not in- 
vidious to recur to her oppressions and robberies upon her best custom- 
ers. 

"It was stated in the British House of Peers, that six hundred Ame- 
rican vessels were seized or detained in British ports, between the 6th 
of November, 1 793, and 28th March, 1794!" 

From 1803, till 11th of November, 1807, she unjustly captured 528 
of our vessels. 

Subsequent to the orders in council, (by which she set aside the ma- 
ritime laws of nations,) and antecedent to our declaration of war,— 
389 vessels more, making a total of 917. 

This was not the most insulting wrong. She first debauched the hab- 
its of our merchants and traders, by compelling them to conduct neutral 
trade according to British regulation! — From 1802 till 1811 inclu- 
sive, Great Britain issued 53,277 licenses for re-exporting neutral 
products. — All which you noted as events occurred; and have no doubt 
since perused in Seybert-s Annals. — I pass over impressment, because 
I hope that it is past. 

When the American sage wrote his satirical attack on British as- 
sumptions, under the "similitude" of "A Prussian Edict, assuming 
claims over Britain," he drew a masterly picture other nretensions. — = 
But the most laughable usurpation (if usurpation is ever laughable,) 
has become history — the ironical model, written before the American 
revolution, has been surpassed since 1792,— "And that the said duty 
may more effectually be collected, we do hereby ordain, that all ships 
or vessels bound from Great Britain to any other part of the world, or 
from any other part of the world to Great Britain, shall in their res- 
pective voyages touch at our port of Kaningsberg, there to be unladen, 
searched and charged with the said duties."* 

* For our comforts or luxuries in dress, she has been equally kind and consi- 
derate.- — 

"But. lest the said islanders (or Americans) should suffer inconveniency by the 
want of hats, we are further graciously pleased to permit them to send their beav- 
er furs to Prussia, [as our wool, &c. to England,] and we also permit hats made 
thereof to be exported from Prussia to Britain; the people thus favored to pay all 
costs and charges of manufacturing, interest, commission to our merchants, in- 
surance and freight going and returning, as in the case of iron." 

A curious man will not forget to compare our colonial with our independent 
commerce, and the pecuniar effect of the voluntary state of our trade with that 
<)f its forced condition. 



144 

It is for you, my venerable friend, and statesmen like you, to re- 
member outrages like these. You will not confound commerce as a 
mean of our comfort, wealth, strength and civilization, with the end of 
society, viz: the liberty and felicity of the people. 

You will add to the appalling aggregate of loss and insult, above stat- 
ed, expense of diplomatical conrexions with the courts of Europe, their 
contaminating influence on republican usages; our continual attempts 
to cope with their extravagance, and ape their modes. — I think I see 
you swelling with patriotic disgust, — indignantly throwing down the 
paper, and starting with angry emotion, from your elbow-chair. You 
pace the room with hurried step: — you revolve the question again and 
again. — You exclaim at length, ''Shall we forever cringe to Europe, 
when we can bethe^r.sf in America? — How long shall we suffer our- 
selves to be infected by monarchical intercourse, instead of keeping 
our unhallowed principles in their pristine brightness, and setting a re- 
deeming example to the states of the south?"* 

When the nation ask the same questions, we may account our des- 
tinv secure,---but not before. 

Whatever digression I make, whatever comparison I draw, I return 
to the subject confirmed in my opinion. The independence of Span- 
ish-America will be followed by consequences the most auspicious to 
our political and commercial fortunes,— provided we do our duty and 
improve occasions: I resume my translation of the Memoire: — 

"The enemies of the United States have insinuated with malignant 
pleasure, that the prosperity of our country did not rest on permanent 
bases. Our commercial grandeur they ascribed to the calamity of 
other nations; they said that foreign dearth gave value to the products 
of our fields; that the arts and industry of emigrant foreigners furnish- 
ed our shops;— and in short, that foreign errors and violence populated 
our habitations, and raised our cities. The representation is evidently 
unjust; but perhaps, unfounded as it is, it has no bearing on the rela- 
tions to be established between us and South-America. 

"The United States possess a great stock in ships, and have num- 
bers of seamen, by which they could accommodate the new nations to 
the South, on better terms than any other people. South-America has 
not these facilities, nor can she possibly acquire them for many years 
to come. Our mariners too possess a spirit of activity, intelligence 
and enterprize that will enhance their services in that carrying trade. 
The immense forests of North-America, converted into schooners, 



* I am far, far from including- the people of Europe with their tyrannical courts. 
— "What path of science have they not illustrated? What region of philosophy 
and literature have they left unexplored or unadorned? What avenue towards 
Fame have they not thronged? — What field of glory have they not trodden? — I 
look with unutterable delight and surprise at the manly freedom of the press in 
various parts of France, of England and Ireland; and sometimes wonder at the 
tameness, servilit3 r , or barrenness of so many of onr own. It looks like anomaly. — 
May the despots of Europe be confounded in their attempt to reduce such a people 
to the condition of brute bessts! 



145 

brigs and ships, by our mechanics, will not be an insignificant acquisi- 
tion for the south, nor a bad speculation for ourselves. Every expedi- 
tion dispatched for those ports by the American merchant, will be turn- 
ed into a trading-voyage (viage de circulo) to the East-Indies with the 
precious metals, abounding in all the dominions southward. The di- 
rect incentive of these metals (drawn heretofore circuitously from 
Spuin) on the arts and productive industry of these states, will produce 
effects as novel as beneficial; and the whale-fishery, liable until now 
to so many difficulties, will be rendered easier, safer, and in all proba- 
bility more lucrative to the Americans. 

"The United States will see the necessity of guarding their rear on 
the North-West coast, and the occupation of Columbia river, &c. seems 
to have been directed to this prudent purpose. If Buenos-Ayres and 
Chili maintain their independence, the American government may have 
a couple of friendly nations (and be it remembered, American nations) 
to serve as links of connexion with its possessions in the West. — Eu- 
rope, we know, has begun to cast a longing eye even oa those desert 
coasts; and a Russian squadron is rumored to be on their voyage to 
hoist their flag in California. An English squadron is probably steer- 
ing for those seas; and notwithstanding the numerous speculations 
made on the cession of Cuba, it appears more probable that the princi- 
pal of the debt due to the British will be paid by the transfer of Manil- 
la and the Philippines,— and the interest (los reditos) by the seizure 
of some other points on the shores of La Plata, or on the Pacific— 
Mark my words. 

"It is an impossibility to suggest any thing new on this matter to the 
consideration of a politician: but I cannot helpremarking, that something 
more than a rigorous stoicism is to be expected from the government 
of the United States in this momentous concern,— the greatest ever 
presented to the notice of nations since the discovery of America. — 
I affirm, that it is not enough to await events; we must direct them. — 
I mean, we tuust succour the friends of freedom. If the independence 
of the South prove abortive, Spanish America will become again what 
she was before,— a country hermetically sealed and secluded as if she 
had no existence; lost only to the United States, but not barred against 
European nations." 

As for Manilla, it is an inferior object in the eye of England: she 
took it once in an expedition from Madras, and can reduce it when she 
pleases. She harbors grander schemes, I think. 

The eloquent writer "On the Colonies" has well pourtrayed the bold 
and persevering system pursued by Great-Britain for controlling the 
commerce and politics of all nations. The stations she has chosen on 
every sea render her mistress of all colonies, and lay all other nations 
under an interdict as to naval power, page 129.— Thus she enjoys near- 
ly all the commerce of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.— "By means of 
all the parts of this whole, thus perfectly linked together, she is pre- 
ent at all points of the universe: she draws wealth of every kind from 
the very fountain-heads, and can supply Europe with every thing which 
she fancies or needs." He elsewhere takes a closer 
U 



146 

View of the gigantic; designs and unalterable policy of En- 
gland. 

"In Gibraltar, England carries the keys of the Mediterranean: in 
Malta she occupies the centre of it; in Corfu, she has one eye on the 
Adriatic, and the other on Greece; — at the Cape of Good-Hope, and 
the Isle of France, she commands the road to India; in Malabar, in 
Ceylon and the Coromandel coast, she, in a manner, clasps opulent In- 
dia in her arms, from the Indus to the source of the Ganges; at St. 
Helena she is placed between the seas of Africa and America; by means 
of New-Holland she will become in time mistress of the South-Sea; 
at Trinidad [or Demerara] she has one foot on the Spanish continent; 
at St. Lucia, she nullifies and curbs Martinique; by means of Antigua 
[Jamaica] and Barbados, she watches the Havana and Porto Rico; in 
fine, by the occupation of Canada and Newfoundland she closes that 
immense chain of posts which she has drawn round the globe to subject 
it to her dominion and her commerce, two things which she never 
separates, and for which she has formed arsenals and warehouses every 
where — the double basis of her power." 

These are advantages "which give England a double line ol mari- 
time posts, behind which she can equally defend herself, and pounce 
upon her enemy who is not able to return her attacks. The traces of 
this plan are too plainly marked in the care which England has taken 
to place herself right opposite all the fortified points which belong to 
other poweis, so that none can mistake her views. In this manner has 
she established herself at St. Lucia, at the Isle of France, and at Ceyr 
Ion, for the purpose of frustrating every thing which might be opposed 
to her." (p. 301-302.) 

What an anxious yearning the British entertain, — how covetously 
they hanker after the exclusive possession and trade of Buenos-Ayres 
and Peru, is demonstrated by their policy since 1740. By occupying 
Buenos-Ayres and fortifying Santa-Fe, they intended to dictate laws 
to the South, and monopolize its treasures. The English oligarchs and 
mercantile body united by inseparable bonds, never relinquish a great 
design; and the various methods and stratagems by which they prose- 
cute it, declare their invariable purposes. 

To obtain dominion over the La Plata, the Paraguay and their shores, 
is a favorite project of the English cabinet: — "If we could ever be 
able to settle our trade effectually this way," said Posthlethwayt, "we 
should utterly ruin the manufacture at Quito in a few years." 

"This is an article of great importance to England. If we were once 
nested here securely, (which if we can ever be persuaded to undertake 
heartily, I do not in the least doubt may be easily effected in time of 
war, and our possessions securely maintained,) we should be able in 
despite of both French and Spaniards, to enjoy a more lucrative trade 
than ever with South -America. For, Buenos-Ayres and the country 
depending on it, afford several commodities that Peru cannot be with- 
out," &c. &c. 

He continues his explanation of the commerce of that country, its 
horses and mules, its mines, the value of the far-famed "herb of Para- 
guay," then brought in "packs" to Santa-Fe, whence it was transport- 
ed to Chili and Peru. To engross this branch of trade, appeared a sine 
qua non: — 



147 

"If ever we become possessed of Buenos-Ayres, we must likewise 
fortify Santa-Fe, (which at present contains not many houses, without 
any great fortification) and take Assumption and settle it with a colony 
of our own." — This, he presumed, would be an easy undertaking, as it 
had only 1000 families, and "was settled by a people that had by their 
laziness and ill-management outrun their fortunes in Peru." 

Negroes could be supplied more economically by England than any 
other people, or even the South-Sea Company; as she manufactured se- 
venty of the eighty commodities employed in the Guinea trade. 

"It is very obvious therefore, to every common eye, that if we can 
ever settle ourselves at Buenos-Ayres, the Spaniards will be under an 
absolute necessity to open a trade with us; nay, it is in our power to 
impose what terms we please upon them: but if we had no other way 
to obtain it, than the affording our goods as cheap again as they can fur- 
nish themselves with the other way, even that with a little patience, 
would infallibly produce it. But,*without trusting to that, we should 
have them in a manner at our mercy, by having the herb of Paraguay 
in our hands." 

Again, "If my countrymen have this at heart, as one would think there 
should be little reason to doubt of, let them turn their thoughts upon 
Buenos-Ayres or Chili; but, the first is to be preferred for many rea- 
sons" — as from Buenos-Ayres and Paraguay they could more effectual- 
ly controul Peru. 

Postlethwayt's colonial plan of settlements, reminds us of the punc- 
tual orders given more lately to generals Crawford, Berresford, and 
Whitelock, not to make any change (in the event of conquering Chili 
and Buenos-Ayres) except the necessary substitution of the title and 
power of the king of England for those of the king of Spain. 

"In the peopling Buenos-Ayres, if ever it should become the British 
possession, I advise my country to follow the Turkish policy, and make 
the people hold their land by the same tenure as t^eir Timariote; only 
it should descend to their heirs, upon keeping o* observing the original 
contract: which is, to be ready to come completely armed to the ap- 
pointed rendezvous, and serve wherever, and as long as the govern- 
ment requires." 

English principles of dependency, as banks, patronage &c. would be 
quite as potent as the semi-feudality of the Turks. 

"When this acquisition is once made, you need never fear procuring 
inhabitants, for there will be more occasion for the bridle than the spur." 

"That this place might have been as easily taken at the commence- 
ment of the last war [in 1740] as Porto-Bello, is little to be doubted." 

In his "Remarks" on the same subject, after the treaty of 1763, Pos- 
tlethwayt kindles new hopes that a new war may grow out of the al- 
ledged maltreatment of British logwood-cutters. 

"Should this prove the case, and we should be obliged to come to a 
fresh rupture with Spain, the fulness of time seems then to be come to 
compel us to put an end to the Spanish power in America: And as we 
are now very happily situated, by virtue of the last treaty to deprive 
them of their Mexican treasures, why not also of their Peruvian?— 
And Buenos-Avres, clown the river La Plata, being the receptacle of a 



148 

part of the treasures from Peru, why should this be unthought of longer? 
"Why should not at length a partition of the richest parts of Spanish- 
America take effect?" &c. [See articles Paraguay and La Plata, \u 
Postlethwayt.] 

Postlethwayt alludes to the acquisition of Florida by Great Britain, 
by the definitive treaty of February 1763, a territory which (fortunately 
for us,) she lost during our revolutionary war. From thence and from 
Jamaica, the invasion of Mexico and the re-occupation of Cuba, appear- 
ed no arduous enterprize. — Florida was ceded in return for Havana, — 
and the great district around it captured so gallantly by the earl of 
Albermarle and admiral Pococke. Their means were formidable,* but 
the works they stormed seemed almost impregnable. The object of 
that atchievment is not yet forgotten, — to acquire the "key of the gulph 
of Mexico, and the centre of the Spanish trade and navigation in the 
New World." — If England relinquish her designs for a moment on 
one point, it will be to direct them to another of more importance; — 
At present, she would scarcely risk a war for Cuba, — I suspect. 

Her renewed attempts on the territories of La Plata in 1806 and 
1807 need hardly be repeated, if they did not display another illustra- 
tion of her inflexible policy — in executing the ambitious projects which 
she had cherished for at least sixty-seven years. — "The generals on the 
Atlantic and Pacific were instructed to establish a line of military 
posts across the continent;" and those positions would promote their 
ulterior operations against Peru &c. as circumstances should dictate. 
(See Poinsett's Report, p. 54j and Bland's Report on Buenos Ayres, 
p. 44.) 

One campaign of clico, finesse and influence, has latterly been 
more successful for Britain in La Plata than could an army of 20,000 
men have been. She has so embroiled parties through the means of Bra- 
zilian and her own. manoeuvres, that she may be said to have annulled 
the revolution, Portugal is played off against Spain, and both are 
moved, or paralyzed by her veteran management. No nation likes 
her; yet she sways all the potentates of the earth. This dreads her 
power; that receives her bribe; a third courts her alliance; a fourth 
hopes to effectuate a diplomatic diversion by her name. She manages 
all according xo the interests of her nobles and monopolists. 

She may possibly have abandoned the hope of acquiring Cuba, but 
would doubtless demand it for the purpose of extorting from Ferdinand 
the cession of some other portion of his crumbling empire. She may 
rest satisfied with Jamaica, since she could not fix her lever at New 



* This expedition "consisted of 19 ships of the line, 18 frigates and sloops, 
and about 150 transports with 10,000 soldiers on board; who were to be joined 
by 4000 men from North- Am erica. — The Morro on the east of the harbour, was 
stormed, after a breach had been effected by springing a mine, when the Spanish 
troops very generally behaved with timidity; but governor Velasco "gloriously 
fell in defending the ensign of Spain, which no entreaties could induce him to 
stake." The marquis Gonsalez, second in command, also met an honorable death 
in his efforts to rally the fugitives. — Britain was victorious in every clime in that 
war — acquired Canada &c. Rodney took Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Marti- 
nique; and Cornish and Draper captured Manilla, the capital of the Philippine 
Islands. 



149 

Orleans, — (thanks, eternal thanks to the incomparable Jackson:) 
but, suppose whatever we choose, we cannot imagine that she will de- 
sist from crossing the line of our policy and frustrating our designs. 
She will ever ingeniously retard what she cannot ultimately prevent; 
and while she suspends the decision of the Spanish cabinet about the 
barren peninsula of Florida, she throws us (or endeavors to throw us) 
to the rearward in our relatious with South-America, — relations ten 
times more estimable to us than those with all the world beside. 

It is not from the inglorious desire of carping at the character of 
Great Britain, that I recapitulate her cupidity, or point with a finger of 
warning at the immeasurable magnitude of her ambition. I admire her 
perseverance and her enterprise while I detest her envious motives, 
her implacable spirit, her insatiable thirst of gold. — She is the Atlas 
of oppression, and the centre of crusades: her Cyclopian island is the 
workshop of war. — There its bolts are ceaselessly forged, and thence 

are they hurled. Her malignant activity is surprising We want a 

little infusion of her inflexibility, — a little more of her decison and fore- 
cast to render us the admiration, the boast and pride of the continent. 
We should not adopt ephemeral expedients, but cast a deliberative look 
at the past and the future; and legislate on a system framed to last for- 
ever.— Younger nations fix their eyes upon us as their natural bul- 
wark; and God forbid that we should deceive their hopes! — .Our ad- 
vantage and glory are situate together.— «De Pradt is of opinion, that 
if Napoleon had employed his resources in emancipating South-Ame- 
rica, instead of risking them in wars with England and Russia, he would 
have delivered Europe and France from those chains which the mari- 
time superiority of England imposes on them. — But, it is fortunate 
that he had no other agency in it than setting it in motion by his ag- 
gressions on Spain. Haters of freedom cannot be friends to mankind. 
It would be doing nothing to wrest colonies from Spain, without reliev- 
ing them from thraldom. Napoleon despised the multitude too sincere- 
ly to think them worthy of liberty; at any rate, he affected this senti- 
ment after his own apostacy. Too much power ever transforms the 
possessor: but, the very sight of civil honors turned his head, and made 
him a usurper. — The eloquent Levite himself cannot relinquish the 
idea of royalty and Catholicism. He would monarchise the new go- 
vernments, with the experience of Europe and the world in his ken. 
He would hand over the people from one tyranny to another — and yet, 
he believes himself a philanthropist — perhaps he is one, but sees and 
feels the impossibility of extricating Europeans from their triple 
chains, and infers that trans-Atlantic communities cannot be different- 
ly moulded! He generously writes, "to show mankind that they have 
no true interest but that of their species — that the source of most abun- 
dant prosperity for one nation is the prosperity which it diffuses 
through another;" and yet he would subject them to the curse of mo- 
narchy [and hierarchy] with Samuel's warning before him.* — An order 



* "Duty and personal feeling have induced us to point out the dangers which 
arise to royalty and the Catholic religion from the prolonged struggle between 



150 

qf men accustomed to dogmatize, and to subjugate the human mind, 
cannot give up their claims to dominion! — We must make allowance 
for the influence of priestly education; and seeing how difficult it is to 
emancipate the judgment from early shackles, you will thank the ex- 
bishop for having written even so well. 

As we enter into the feelings of our South-American brothers, from 
the generous desire of beholding a termination of Spanish despotism, 
so we are anxious, to see them rest from their revolutionary labors un- 
der a rational system of self-government. We ought to shudder at 
the idea of seeing monarchies springing up around us in every direc- 
tion. Let the Atlantic be a political boundary as well as a natural 
one; monarchies (if it must be so,) on that side; — republics on this. 
There would then be sufficient homogeneity there and here to maintain 
social concord. Then would there be enough of congeniality to bind 
together the respective parts by a moral "attraction of cohesion." At 
the same time the moral and political repulsion between Europe and 
America would be muturdly preservative of our several principles, 
and preventive of hostilities. We should act on a thorough conviction 
of each others maxims, and pursue the customary intercourse of na- 
tions without familiarity. Aware of the impossibility of friendship, we 
would venture to approach no nearer than respect. Civility would sa- 
tisfy both parties: too distant for collision, — too dissimilar for disputes. 
For, moral space divides nations more effectually than seas and Alps; 
or degrees of latitude and longitude. Religious and political bicker- 
ings in all ages and countries attest this remarkable fact. The fiercest 
animosities have been kindled among professors of similar tenets, or 
adherents of the same party, with a shade of special difference hardly 
discernible, and unworthy of a rational mind. Sects, on the contrary, 
who differ from each other toto ccelo, stand too far asunder for union 
or disputation. As they despair of converting or ruling one another, 
they avoid controversy; they mutually view and treat each other as 
fellow-men, not as political sectaries who hold any principles or creed 
in common. Opposites here may be said to agree, and extremes to 
unite; while proximity engenders a border-war. Nor Friendship nor 
sympathy nor hatred regulate national intercourse. Commercial con- 
veniency and benefit are sufficient. — Diplomatic profession itself does 
not trade in specific compliments adapted to soothe national prejudice 
or flatter governmental vice — it certainly does not make one or other 
the basis of commercial connection. We do not assure Alexander the 
Deliverer, that we would import his Sable (or Siberian) iron, because 
we know that his most sacred and imperial majesty never uses it for 
fetters or branding irons, in his free and indulgent government, and 
may therefore spare some of that merchandize to us; neither do we 



Spain and America." Again: "In the number of [South] American constitutions 
which Ave have seen, we have not met with one which included a single word 
referring 1 to royalty; on the contrary all are struck with a deep dye of republi- 
canism, and lean more to the institutions of the United States than to those of 
Europe. The danger is so much the greater, as no country equals [or has equal- 
led] in prosperity that of the United States." (Preface p. 10.) 



151 

receive his hemp from Riga, &e. on the complimental presumption, that 
there are no culprits in "all the Russias" who fear its stricture — We 
do not prostrate ourselves before the grand Sultan, make a speech on 
his divinity, or that of the Koran, and abjure the crusades, (foolish and 
wicked as they were,) in order to obtain opium from Smyrna, to help 
us to forget them, — or permission to trade with his enviable slaves. Our 
traders care not "a fig for the Sultan and Sophi." We do not, as I 
believe, even make a palinody to king George III. "of glorious and im- 
mortal memory," Defender of the Faith &c. telling him how sorry we 
are for the unholy rebellion of 1775-6,— that we are sensible of our 
stubbornness towards the "Lord's anointed," and in filial contrition 
crave the privilege of importing his glassware, to drink brimmers to 
his Britannic majesty's health and long life, and to pledge ourselves 
in sacramental fealty "to him and his heirs forever." He may flatter 
himself, that our reliance on his spinners and weavers for calico and 
woollens to cover our nakedness, is a symptom of our returning alle- 
giance, but he is mistaken. It is rather owing to our general igno- 
rance of the superior- advantages of internal circulation that we 
have such blind avidity for external commerce: for, it is a common 
proverb, that— there's no friendship in trade. If there be any such 
sentiment, I own that I never saw an item of it either in an in- 
voice or price-current. His Britannic Majesty may still have some 
friends, and he had more amongst us. A few were attached to him 
in the East and in our great towns, from a partiality for monarchy, or 
from party-blindness,--but the majority must have been Swiss friends, 
ready to serve any power for gain: 

Menea la cola el can, 
No por ti, sino por el pan. 

i. e. Cerberus wags not his tail for thee, but for the sop. 

Our foreign trade then has little dependence on friendship, and has 
not a shadow of political reason in it, apart from our unfortunate plan 
of imposts — on which our revenue depends. — With our Southern bro- 
thers our relations might be very different: Political motives, strong as 
those of self-preservation, dictate firm amity between us. — Friendship 
might here have some influence on trade, if trade has none on friend- 
ship.— Should we gradually withdraw our diplomacy from Europe it 
would not imply enmity, any more than a man's living pretty closely 
en his own farm would denote a grudge to his neighbour. Except in 
courtesy, independent men and nations care not for each other's opini- 
ons With those of the south even this general truth has its excep- 
tions. — There let us lay an anchor.— By receding from European po- 
licy and opinions, we retire from broils, not from commerce. America 
is the home we should exclusively study to fortify, to honor, preserve 
and embellish. 

But, if one or two European cabinets conceive hopes of proselytism 
on this continent, the aspect of this sunny sky is instantly overcast, 
and storms and darknesss deform the bright face of day. Royal ma- 
chinators would commence an open or secret crusade against the "rights 
of man," spread their creeds by purse and sword, and baptize their 
converts in the bleed ef martyred republicans. Where there is the 



152 

faintest hope of triumph, they will purchase it at any price. 1 leave you, 
my friend, to prosecute this delicate subject through all its windings 
and probabilities. I have put hypothesis for fact. Much of the sup- 
posed evil has occurred. The same machinations that undermine the 
rising edifice of her civil liberty, would secure the resources of South- 
America for the support of foreign despotic governments in member- 
ship with the "Holy Alliance." — I should like to see this ontinent 
stand alone, but heaven forbid that we should stand alone on the con- 
tinent! 

If-we survey our government as the exemplar for South-America, 
in any respect national or federal; if we reflect that the eyes of the 
world are upon us; how should it inflame our ardour, to play the dig- 
nified part of leader, pattern and protector! How cautiously yet firm- 
ly, should we move, where every step we take may be imitated!. — 
The hopes and solicitudes of the oppressed of all nations converge to 
ward? us. Reformers argue the practicability of civil liberty from our 
experiment.— If they should behold us frittering away free institu- 
tions by a compromise between freedom and servitude, — how would 
their hearts sink within them! They would turn hopeless away, and 
deem it useless to erect altars to freedom, which the interested, the 
unreflecting and the venal were equally eager to demolish. — Let us 
endeavor to hide such pernicious patterns as we cannot remove at the 
moment, and hold forth for imitation the natural, incontrovertible 
principles of the Declaration of Independence. Republics have no 
pledge of duration, and no title to respect, but in the maintenance of 
equal rights. — Desirous as I am of beholding sister republics in South- 
America, I am more infinitely desiious of preserving our own in health, 
beauty, purity and energy to an unparalleled longevity. — We have the 
power of maiming the cause of freedom more incurably than the Hely 
Alliance. Such would be the frightful influence of anti-republican in- 
novations here, on reformation in other countries. * * * 
************ 

The enemies of liberty always draw their most specious arguments 
from the treacherous abuses of its professed friends and exclusive guar- 
dians. — Let us strain unnatural concessions no farther. ***** 
In hope of seeing the angry clouds dispersed that appear above our ho- 
rizon, let us take another glance at the benign results of South-Am- 
erican independence. To us it will be productive of many advantages. 

Free governments may be instituted there, which if not in alliance, 
will be in amity with us. As neither will be inspired with the fell spi- 
rit of conquest, we shall have nothing to apprehend, but much to hope 
from each other. We shall mutually discard all intrigue from rela- 
tions founded injustice and sympathy. 

Maritime law has fluctuated in Europe with the will of the dominant 
potentates;— and we have suffered under every innovation, especially 
since England became mistress of the ocean. May not the restoration 
of rights on the land (in this hemisphere) prove the glad harbinger of 
their re-establishment at sea? 

Whatever aberrations may happen in the infancy of states, or during 
the arduous stages of revolution,— tree governments in the south will 



IBS 

not transcend the essential provisions of the law of nations. On the 
contrary, they will see security for their own rights in respecting those 
of others. They will co-operate in the glorious work of enfranchising 
the seas, now tributary (in a great measure,) to the stronger. There- 
fore, 

They will not presume to impress our seamen. 
They will not audaciously try to starve a great nation or a feeble 
one, nor embargo our freighted ships in their ports, as one of the 
means. 
They will not compel our merchant vessels to pay tribute to them, 
nor undertake to license a fair and lawful commerce, (unlawfully 
and previously interdicted,) in order to raise a revenue by the sale 
of admiralty permissions and indulgences. 
They will not poison our politics through mercantile and diplomatic 
channels; — will not inflame disaffection in the first place, and next 
dispatch a secret emissary to accomplish a secession from the Uni- 
on, and a confederacy of New-England with Canada and Nova- 
Scotia. 
We are in danger of none of these vexations from our friends in the 
South. Nay, rather, 
They will stimulate us to improvement by countenance and fellow- 
ship, and snatch us from the perils of a too flattering contrast, by 
furnishing a juster standard of comparison than exists between us 
and the tyrannized nations of Europe. — Nations are prone to im- 
bibe arrogance from real or fancied superiority, if the "flattering 
unction" be thickly plastered on their self-love. Thus some an- 
cient states rated as barbarians, people as good as themselves.— 
States, like individuals, cannot exalt their dignity by looking haugh- 
tily downward, but by pressing emulously upward. — Let us gio- 

RY IN OUR PRINCIPLES, BUT LET US BE INTENT ON THEIR PRE- 
SERVATION. 

They will rival us in the arts and sciences; they will nobly cultivate 
the flowery field of literature, and spur us to an intellectual race 
in which we must outstrip our former speed. 
The governments of the South will probably aid us in future wars, 
and their population and territory lay open a rich commerce to our 
enterprize. If I have not expatiated more particularly on this part 
of the subject, it is because men of reading like yourself, and prac- 
tical merchants can follow the minutiae of it without a second hint. 
The counterpart of it leads us to a slight review of domestic inter- 
ests, at the risk of some repetition. 
If tautology were excusable in enfotcing attention to considerations 
of primary importance, 1 would here repeat some monitory circum- 
stances that seem peculiarly to enhance the worth of this trade. — It is 
time to trace, if not to settle, the boundaries between our domestic in- 
dustry and foreign commerce, — to divide our cares between them, 
and give just encouragement to each. It is high time to ingraft more 
durable principles of economy on our code, and to prevent a revival of 
the awful distresses from which, I fear, we are scarcely yet beginning 
to recover. Society has been shaken to its foundations, and shudders 



154 

at the idea of similar ruin. They have witnessed the delirium of bank- 
ing, and The seductive lures of speculation: credit stretched to its ut- 
most, and snapped to pieces by an insupportable weight; the country 
precipitating itself on the towns to realize its -'South-sea dreams," and 
reap a golden harvest. They had watched the progress of fascination 
to bankruptcy, and saw the seaports giving back its disappointed po- 
pulation to the country, with nothing left but sad experience, to com- 
pensate their losses. — The community is yet unsettled after the recent 
shucks like the ocean after a tempest. They call for securities against 
a renewal of the scenes of pillage, and are feverishly anxious till they 
obtain them. They sigh for some immoveable mound against the in- 
undation of paper-money, which has snatched off so much solid pro- 
perty without equivalent: "as ocean sweeps the laboured mole away." 
They want to see the demon chained that bore off their wealth, as a fal- 
con its prey: they pine under privilege, and demand its reduction to 
the level of right.* In the commerce of South-America, and in our 
domestic industry, manufacturing and agricultural, (a steady and equi- 
table legislation always presupposed,) I see a prospective and certain 
antidote to the malignant ills that have scourged us. — It has been rela- 
ted of the ancient Brachmans and Magi of the east, that they could 
foretell tempests, earthquakes, droughts, and other natural calamities, 
long before their occurrence, — so profound was their discernment of 
physical prognostics and causes. A like foresight in the active con- 
cerns of life is "devoutly to be wished" for; but cannot be attained 
without a clear comprehension of the principles of social prosperity. 
Late derangement and present suffering rebuke our vanity and repel 
our pretensions to superior sagacity— but they may teach prudence. — 
So, let us tread round the circle as we may, we arrive again at the 
original point. 

In accommodating new arrangements to the actual and approaching 
relations of the world, I say, we must give due weight to the tiaffick 
of the South. It is specially different from our European trade, which 



* What stronger proofs of depredation under the credit-system can we have, 
than the numerous acts passed in many of the states, to stay executions for the 
recovery of debt? It has been decided by several judges (who assume the power 
of eontroullmg every thing right or wrong, now-a-days,) that these laws were 
unconstitutional, and null, as impairing the obligation of contract. And so they 
undoubtedly appear to be. But, observe how their doctrine holds! Property 
is protected by all our constitutions as a sacred right, — not to be invaded or vio- 
lated.— Proprietors reposed in security. — By and by, comes a rage for banks; a 
Whirlwind of speculation sweeps over the land, and leaves many a rich man house- 
less. His property went in exchange for a paper-sign; and the signs, after cheap- 
ening money, changing prices, and dissipating property to an unprecedented 
degree, are diminished as suddenly and destructively. — None but brokers and 
bankers could commind the magic sign of value. In the sacrifice that ensued, the 
legislatures endeavoured to alleviate calamity by staying execution, and allowing 
time for settlement, &c. "No," say the judges, with their consistent logick, — 
"you shall not interpose in favour of misery; -we condemn the ehect, but approve the 
causb. You may produce mischief, but cannot heal it.- great and fundamental 
compacts may be violated; but secondary contracts are of paramount, inviolable 
obligation." 



155 

shears us annually like sheep of our native wealths it is the reverse 
of the China and East Indian commerce, which swallows our specie 
for superfluities and unwholesome luxuries.— It will employ a great 
portion of our shipping and seamen in a productive tratfick,— which 
brings us a clear gain, and that to a considerable amount, encrea^ing 
from year to year.— It will be carried on with the people of junior 
states, inclined to expect fraternal counsel, example and assistance 
from an elder branch of the continental family. They would gladly 
reciprocate our kindness.— Let us foment these feelings and advantages. 
Let us withdraw politically and eternally from Europe, and cherish ev- 
ery germ of republicanism, and every source of commerce at our door. 

Were the question now to be determined, whether we should plunge 
so deeply in foreign to the prostration of internal trade, I would raise 
my voice and entreat you to lilt yours, against an excessive patronage 
of the former. It has introduced monarchical ideas and extravagant 
habits among us, has banished simplicity of living, and substituted at 
once the extreme of luxury. Devotion to wealth and splendour has 
greatly superseded the civic, homespun, unostentatious virtues of mo- 
deration, frugality, and probity. — But, we have passed the Rubicon. 

— Neither the Spartan nor the Chinese systems will suit us. 

We cannot (if it were wise) adopt iron money, black broth, and hard 
exercise, nor lay aside navigation and commerce. Let us now direct 
as carefully as possible what we cannot undo; and raise the drooping 
heads of our domestic manufacturers, and cheer the genius of internal 
trade. He must indeed be an unskilful statesman who thinks that a 
nation of 10,000,000 of souls, doubling their numbers every 25 or 30 
years, can flourish (or even exist) by agriculture alone. A farm is 
only a manufactory; and one manufactory which can treble the value 
of materials prepared in another, cannot be depressed without depress- 
ing national strength. — All the people cannot subsist as the owners of 
a southern plantation; they must be protected in their respective call- 
ings. It is not expedient to sacrifice one class of inhabitants to anoth- 
er. Such a wretched policy could only proceed from narrow views and 
local feelings. — It is contemptible, originate where it may. — Why tie 
up the hands of industry in the middle stages? If our cotton and to- 
bacco alone can find a profitable foreign market, (and that is preca- 
rious) we must create a home market — we must cherish domestic ma- 
nufactures. Without internal circulation we possess no strength, no 
financial basis to support us in an emergency. We have too many 
shopkeepers; — we lack manufacturers; and never can exhibit any thing 
but feebleness without them. 

We will be as serviceable to the South-Americans as they to us, if 
we seize the occasion. Let us procrastinate our duty no longer: let us 
not verify the Italian proverb, once applied by Dr. Franklin (with 
far less reason) to another people.* "When it is too late they are 



*"The English feel but do not see:" i. e. are not insensible of inconveniences 
when present, but do not foresee and prevent them. (See Plain Truth, page 222 
vol. IV. of Franklin's Works.) 



156 

sensible of their imprudence: after great fires they provide buckets 
and engines: after a pestilence, they think of keeping dean the streets 
and common sewers; and when a town has been sacked by their ene- 
mies, they provide for its defence." 

Services deferred beyond the trying moment would possibly be sus- 
pected of selfish motives. Kind offices cannot be tendered with a good 
grace out ot season. If we wait until the crisis is over, we may as 
well wait forever. — Waving the justifiable motives of our policy, which 
are unseen by them, and therefore unacknowledged, and making the 
case an individual one, fin their view of it J it will be too intelligible 
to be mistaken. A person of good repute falls into poverty, and in his 
straits applies for loans: but is universally repulsed, sometimes insult- 
ed. He suddenly inherits a great legacy; and the beams of fortune 
recall his swarm of insect-friends who live only in sunshine. The very 
brokers are now obsequious, and all are cordial: in passing through the 
streets he receives continual salutes; — his house is thronged: greeting 
and congratulation circulate as briskly as burgundy. Offers come now 
unbidden. The usurer would lend to him, as a special favor, only at 10 
per cent. Sycophants and all sorts of "knee-crooking knaves" won- 
der how they had lately fallen into such egregious blunders: Their 
host really appeared in a new light. What malice could have misre- 
presented him? What infatuation had bewildered them? The worthy 
man, as steady in prosperity as he had been in adversity, perceives 
the baseness of the parasites, and despises their overtures. — His boun- 
ties fall among them, as crumbs among spaniels: he scorns them while 
they guzzle his wine and devour his viands,— though he strives to con- 
ceal his contempt out of reverence for the household gods, or the rites 
of hospitality. It is not trespassing the limits of probability— to con- 
ceive such equanimity and feeling in a government as in a private in- 
dividual. All must revere 

"A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards 

Has ta'en with equal thanks- And bless'd are those, 

Whose blood and judgment are so well comingled, 

That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger 

To sound what stop she please." 

Let one supposed instance serve for fifty. Actions must be well-tim- 
ed. Nobody is grateful to the dying miser for bequeathing his treasure; 
•—he is ridiculed even by his heirs, who know that he would not have 
left a doit behind, could he have carried it with him. 

Remember sir, that J do not liken this conduct to our policy; — lam 
exhibiting the invidious light in which foreign agents and merchants 
take care to set it. They give it the most miserly aspect that imagina- 
tion can form — Consequently our acts, however intended, are seen 
abroad with a jaundiced eye, except where a few of our faithful agents 
and citizens have represented them fairly. To wrench this foil from 
our enemy's hand, it is indispensably necessary to act so unequivo- 
cally as to set distortion at defiance. Such I believe will be our con- 
duct. I do not propose incautious proceedings' — nor recommend any- 
thing out of the bounds of neutral and amicable intercourse. Let our 
citizens sell or carry every article of commerce to every part of Spa' 1 - 



157 

"ish America. Let us leave that commerce "unembarrassed by too much 
regulation." 

Shortly after the celebrated Thomas Paine had suggested a "Con- 
tinental Conference," and sketched beforehand that bold outline of 
procedure for the quondam colonies, which eventuated in the ''Decla- 
ration of Independence,'' he renewed his exhortations to the states. — 
"The continental belt (said he) is too loosely buckled: and if something 
be not done in time, it will be too late to do anything. We may, (to 
parody some of his words) we may fall into a state in which neither 
reconciliation nor reciprocation will be practicable." 

This is the evil 1 am so anxious to prevent. The beneficent acts of 
a liberal policy cannot be safely withheld much longer. I assert this 
with a deliberative view of the delicacy of our situation. I have en- 
deavoured to survey our foreign relations with care; and that survey 
corroborates my opinion of the necessity of friendship with South-Am- 
erica. — Looking over all America, I behold the "continental belt too 
loosely buckled." The happy opportunity of tightening our union may 
now be offered for the last time! — To tender services a few months 
hence, may be as superfluous as presenting a mantle to Spring after 
she has put on her verdant livery, and glows in all the freshness of re- 
novated nature. 

A prospect of glory is opening in Spanish-America. Things look 
auspiciously in Venezuela and New-Granada. Civil liberty will suc- 
ceed, if patriots here and there and elsewhere, manfully discharge their 
duty. I hope, they will. It not, the failure will not be with you.-- - 
In this confidence, I remain, sir, &c. 

Unchangeably 
A Friend of Truth and Sound Policy. 



To the Hon.- 



Washington. 



1 



January %5th 1820. 
My respected friend, 

An esteemed acquaintance, and your old revolutionary com- 
rade major S****, having honoured me with a visit on his way to 
Washington, I avail myself of his politeness to trausmit with this "tu- 
tical" note, my letter of the 20th, and sundrv documents explanatory 
of events, intrigues and parties in Buenos-Ayres and Chili. — I natural- 
ly repeat my respects to you in renewing my homage to true princi- 
ples; for, I discover that by "association and location of ideas," I have 
been practising mnemonics half my life without knowing it; — not quite 
so methodically as I hope to do in future, by dint of the discipline in 
which Mr. Manners is initiating the Philadelphians. By the way, these 
mnemonics may serve as remembrancers of the doctrines of 1776, — 
since buried so deeply under new-fangled rubbish. We have need of 
their resurrection. They will serve to measure novel assertions and 
ingenious sophistry by the immutable standard of first principles — 
They may remind statesmen of the past, obliging them to think on the 



158 

world that was, when they are legislating on the most critical matters 
for posterity: They will teach from the archives of history that what- 
ever sacrifices we must make, should be for civil liberty, not for ser- 
vitude; and admonish us not to stretch a temporary concession to end- 
less duration, but to eradicate bad principles like weeds, before they 
have struck deep root. — They will demonstrate from the experience of 
ages, that "orders of men" uniformly strive to engross power and ex- 
tend their sway, at the expense of the people: Ecclesiastics never 
voluntarily relinquish power: nobles do not part with it: party-leaders 
never give it up; — and lawyers never surrender it. Like kings they 
all labor to accumulate more authority, and to increase their preroga- 
tive to the utmost. What the people once give up, they never can 
recover but by violence. — Mnemonicks therefore, would advise the 
multitude to keep the reins in their own hand, else state-jockeys will 
drive the state-coach to perdition. — The same causes that butchered 
political freedom in other countries, would destroy it in our own. 

Until I have leisure for framing a historical digest of revolutiona- 
ry occurrences, political and military, in Buenos-Ayres and Chili, 
these papers will convince you of thedisingenuousness of the "Voyage" 
on which I have animadverted. Enough has been cited to show, that 
its author is inaccurate; that he is partial; that he is presumptuous; 
that he is malevolent; and (worse than all!) that lie was so ungenerous 
as to assail the persecuted, and so cruel as to attack the defenceless. — 
I was indignant at such a tirade against the republican party in 
the South, and repelled it with force. You will perceive, however, 
that I was lenient, compared with what I might have urged against 

his garbling the candid letter of ■ , and inveighing against 

under such ci cumstances. Read the whole, and — wonder! 

Col. D • 's very lucid narrative of Buenos-Ayrean revolutions, 

of the project of monarchy, of Belgrano's royalist proclamation of 1817, 
on taking command of the army of Upper Peru,— the independent com- 
ments of the Cronica Argentina and the consequent banishment of its 
editor and correspondent; the subversion of the trial by jury,— the jus- 
tification set up by Dr. Saenz for the monarchical scheme,* the extracts 
from the Censor, will convince the most incredulous, of the black ma- 
chinations of certain chiefs.— I forward by the same conveyance, the 
publications made by the exiles in Baltimore, in 1817 and 1818, with 
the anonymous and official attempts to answer them in Buenos-Ayres. 
— I send you (in number 4,) twelve original private letters, written at 
sundry times and places by the gallant Carrera to myself; you will 
perceive frequent reference to conversations in New-York, during an 
intimacy of ten months, when he used to anticipate the liberation of 
his beloved country, with indescribable enthusiasm; would so unre- 
servedly state his plans of melioration by destroying ecclesiastical pri- 
vilege, by patronizing education, by protecting a tree press and the 



*"fie not frightened, my dear friend, (said Dr. S. to the enraged editor of the 
Argentine Chronicle,) at the idea of the Incas. We must prepare the means of 
forming a durable government, and this is a step towards accustoming the peo- 
ple to a monarchical one. 



159 

elective franchise, by encouraging all the useful arts. — He used to 
say. that a dozen skilful mechanics, who would instruct the Chilians, 
were better than an army, and ten times more serviceable than all the 
priests, lawyers and escribanos in the country. When he unbosomed 
himself to his familiar friends, he would expatiate on these subjects 
with an ardour and an eloquence that enchanted the company. — A gen- 
tleman, who was frequently one of the party on those occasions, — af- 
ter trying to di>believe the rumour (circulated in November last) of 
this illustrious man's assassination, and being disgusted with the cal- 
umnies against him, wrote to me in these terms, on the 16th of Nov- 
ember. 

"I have an uncommon and heartfelt interest in his safety and suc- 
cess. I have so often listened to his enthusiastic accents when dwel- 
ling on the hopes of his country, — so often witnessed his entire devo- 
tedness to her cause, — so often been impressed with the belief that he 
was an instrument in the hands of fate, possessed of every quality of 
head and heart, to secure the invaluable blessings for which she strug- 
gles! I need not tell you how impatiently I wait for the Expose pro- 
mised in your last, nor how eagerly I shall "devour up a discourse," 
which shall exculpate our glorious friend from the slanders of his ene- 
mies, the common enemies of the human race." 

Lest you should be as impatient as my New-York correspondent, I 
send for your perusal, two newspapers containing an exposition of 
events connected with general Carrera's Memoire to the congress of 
Buenos-Ayres, reported to be from the pen of the worthy and intelli- 
gent colonel Poinsett, of South-Carolina. This paper was written to 
explain events in Chili, &c. and to pourtray the republican character 
and conduct of general Carrera and his associates; and lo! the "voy- 
ager" mangles one sentence of it, and cites a line or the fragment of 
a line to prove the contrary! This mutilation is exactly analogous to 
that (so often instanced) of quoting the Bible to shew that ''there is no 
God," — by omitting — "The fool sayeth in his heart," &c. I wish I 
could palliate such injustice by ascribing it to error — but, that is im- 
possible.— I send you also general Carrera's manifesto, written after 
the murder of his illustrious brothers at Mendoza. The eloquence, 
pathos and perspicuity of both compositions will captivate your soul: 
the Documentary proofs subjoined to both will command your implicit 
assent to every word he utters. It will afflict you to reflect on the sa- 
crifice of such unshaken patriots, by monarchical firebrands in the 
mask of independents. 

In the proposals of theLastre and O'Higgin's party to the Spaniards 
at the infamous surrender promoted by the English commodore Hillyar 
(See Poinsett's "keview") they ascribe all the blame of the rebellion 
to the Carreras, and that at the earliest epoch, "they had indicated 
treacherous designs of independence." — Lastre and O'Higgins basely 
capitulated and submitted to the Spaniards, excepted the Carreras, who 
were to be sent prisoners to Lima: and when they escaped from prison, 
O'Higgins marched against them to enforce the treaty. But the viceroy 
having gained his ends by British management, now refused to ratify 
the articles, and the Chilians united when it was too late. Col. P. re- 



160 

marking their devotedness to the cause, observes, "they said with Ar- 
tigas, we will be the allies but not the vassals of 3uenos-Ayres." Hav- 
ing described their valour, patriotism, and character which he perfect- 
ly understood from long and personal acquaintance, col. Poinsett pa- 
thetically relates their murde» (by order of San Martin) "on the very 
dav that an order ai rived from Buenos-Ayres to have them conveyed 
to the capital. Despotism had found a ready engine in the governor of 
Mendoza; Luzuriaga hastened to imbrue his hands in the blood of the 
bravest champions of the liberty of Soiith-Jlmerica." 

"The names of these victims of faction will live in the annals of his- 
tory, and their memory will be dear to all who cherish liberty." 

Of Luis de Carrera, the same who volunteered on board the Essex, 
as related in Porter's Journal, Col. P. states: — "He was one of na- 
ture's fairest works; elegant in his peison, graceful ai;d courtly in his 
manners: brave, generous and humane. At the [former] battle of Mai- 
pu, where the Chilians contended against each other, he took one of 
O'Higgins's officers behind him on horseback, to save him from the sol- 
diery, and exerted himself to stop the carnage." 

I had the following anecdote from captain R , formerly of this 

city, who so signally distinguished himself at the battle cf Yerbas- 
Buenas: 

"Some time after the patriot army of Chili had retreated across the 
Andes, its officers gave a ball to those of the Buenos-Ayrean army who 
were stationed at Mendoza. At that ball, a letter was accidentally 
dropped from the pocket of a gentleman in the views of the royalists, 
and written (if course) to a brother royalist, wherein he tells him in 
substance: — Things are going badly for the royal gause, and 

UNLESS THE CaRRERAS CAN BE DESTROYED, MATTERS WILL GET 
WORSE. THEY ARE THE LIFE AND SOUL OF THE REPUBLICAN PAR- 
TY. This letter was picked up by a young lady, and handed to one of 
the officers from Mendoza and sent to Buenos-Ayres. The testimony 
of a royalist, thus incidentally procured, must convince the most scepti- 
cal of the sound principles of the late, the martyred Carreras." 

Had Carrera been president of Chili instead of Last re, the Essex 
and our countrymen would have received the protection due to them. 
Gen. C. used to repeat, that the capture of the Essex led to the ruin of 
Chili; for that little frigate had given sufficient employment to the Brit- 
ish commander, and prevented him from using the baleful influence 
which afterwards produced a fatal surrender! It caused the removal 
of the patriot army from the frontier, and it became in great part dis- 
persed. Lastre,* more effectually to make his peace with the royal- 
ists, was signing an order for Carrera's execution, believing him still iu 
the prison of Chilian— "when Carrera (who had escaped) presented him- 
self before him in the habit of a monk. On discovering him to be arm- 
ed, Lastre fell upon his knees, and begged his life. Carrera put the 
order in his pocket, and only threw its author into prison — hastened to 
rally the scattered troops, and marched with a handful of men against 



* Tins traitor had assumed the office and title of "Supreme Dh*ector. ; 



161 

the enemy; but it was too late. The effect of Hillyar's and Lastre's 
capitulation was then irretrievable. — All this you have heard commo- 
dore Porter relate. This discerning officer thus speaks of general 
Jose Miguel de Carrera: 

"North -Americans may always count on a true friend in him. On 
"us rested his best hopes for securing the liberties of his country: and 
"if any advantages are to result to the United States from a connec- 
"tion with the South, to his aid I am confident, we shall be chiefly in- 
debted for them. He is a patriot of the first class. I cannot better 
"make known his character than by saying, — he is the Washington of 
"the South." 

This is extracted from a very long letter written by the commodore 
in August 1817, most of which was then published in a New-York 
paper, — without giving it as his. All this evidence was known to the 
"Voyager," who disregarded all! Now, you have an index to the 
provoking cause of my disgust. 

Had San Martin been out of the country, and Buenos-Ayrean arts 
suspended, a reconciliation would have been easily effected by a zea- 
lous and honest mediator between Carrera and O'Higgins; as both 
were generous, though most unequally endowed with talent. But, the 
mask has been thrown aside; the dagger has drank the best of patriot 
blood; and the perpetrators secure in uncontroulable superiority, are 
ready to brave public opinion, to laugh at odium, and to exclaim with 
an instigator in the tragedy: "What need we tear who knows it, wheu 
none can call our power to account?" 

You will be able to glean useful information on the revolutions of 
the South, from Moreno's Memoirs, p. 127 to 196,— (the whole volume 
is interesting;) from Mier y Guerra's History of the Revolution in Mex- 
ico, although the opening chapters are tinctured with the spirit of con- 
troversial animosity. Porter's Journal and Private Letters, Johnson's 
Letters on Chili, Niles's Register, the Commissioners' Reports and the 
Periodical Work, El Espanol, published in London, you have already 
read.* I believe however, and I say it without boast or bias,— that tire 
manuscript documents I have been so fortunate as to obtain, will enable 
me to cast much additional light on the subject,— at last unburdened 
of political polemics. 

You will better understand the packet of South-American newspa- 
pers, from this key to the nature of their management: 

Of "El Mogado National," or National Advocate of Buenos-Ayres, 
Mr. Agrelo, a late exile, is editor on the part of government. By this 
service he most probably saved his life; as he had been kept a prisoner 
on board of a vessel in the harbour of Buenos-Ayres for many months 
after his return from the United States. 

M. Henriquez, translator of Bissett's Sketch of Democracy, and go- 
vernment-printer, is editor of El Censor,— The Censor of Buenos- 



* The documents concerning Venezuela, Walton's Work, Dr. Burke's writings, 
and the "Outline," as relates to New-Granada and Venezuela, contain many grains 
of fact from which you must separate the chaff. 

Y 



163 

Ay res. It was for reprehending the monarchical tenets of the Censor 
in the Cronica, &c. that Moreno and Pazos were banished. The "voy- 
ager" insinuates that the Censor was in jest, and that "the Chronicle 
took up the affair seriously:" that the Cabildo put an end to the dis- 
pute; that the Censor passed into other hands, "and the paper has since 
advanced nothing but republican principles "—This assertion is untrue; 
and that insinuation fallacious: for, the editor of the Chronicle might 
well take up the affair seriously, when the Director (Puerrevdon) 
thought so "seriously" of his political oppugnation, as to send him out 
of the country without a hearing. This was a serious joke truly. 

All these papers and others are supported at the expense of govern- 
n.ent: an account of one is a history of the whole. The "Cronica Ar- 
gentina" was an independent exception. 

El Buende, The Sylph (or Fairy) published in Santiago, the capital 
of Chili: Its editor is Mr. Monteagudo, a man of abilities, but unprin- 
cipled; successively jacobin, republican and royalist. It was he who 
carried the murderous order express from San Martin, in Chili, to the 
governor of Mendoza, for the butchery of the Carreras. 

El SuU The Sun, by a clerk in one of the public offices. 

El Jl*-gos de Chili,— The Chilian Argus, was conducted by Mr. Ri- 
vas, secretary to Mi. Irrisari, minister in London, and at that time a 
clerk in the department of state. Mr. Rivas is a native of Caraccas. 

Titles and editors have since undergone changes, the gazettes mov- 
ing on in their prescribed track, — satellites of the respective adminis- 
trations, without regard to first principles of government or consider- 
ations of public good. Now we behold them the keen allies of inde- 
pendence; soon after, the mere klickers and worshippers of official 
power, excusers of abuses, and base instruments of corruption.— Every 
thing degenerates in proportion to its distance from popular controul. 
When popular fatuity rises to such a pitch as to discourage perfect 
freedom of enquiry on all subjects, then do the people inflict a blow 
of suicide on their own rights* and public debauchery advances with- 
out restraint. 

1 have frankly submitted to your consideration, my opinions on the 
expediency of an affectionate mediation, — on privateering, — on the 
leading principles which should direct our domestic policy and foreign 
intercourse. They are the result of serious and impartial reflection 
on my part; 1 am confident that you will not condemn them without 
examination. 

Major S h will inform you minutely of our dialogues and circum- 

ambulations. Aristotle himself was not a greater peripatetic, if he was 
a more rigid logician than our friend. We canvassed all the topics that 
aie hammered, or expected to come on the anvil, this session; the slave- 
question, foreign relations; home-manufactures, (not omitting the ma- 
nufacture of litigation, the most flourishing of all,) and the capability 
of the South-Americans for freedom. I venture to predict that the 
major will never be prosecuted under the Athenian law against neu- 
trality in public parties, tumults and sedition! I love his fervor; so 
decided, without dogmatism! and as tolerant of others' opinions as in- 
dependent in making up his own, I am thankful for your former in- 



163 

troduction to so staunch a republican — a genuine disciple of the old- 
school. 

In the Missouri slave-dispute, I need not tell you, that he glows on 
the North side of it, like a comet in its perihelion. — Those on the South 
side of the debate are even more violent, I see, but with less reason 
than this old soldier of Washington. — If I do not concur in all his pro- 
jects, I participate in his alarm. — Never before was my heart weighed 
down with such a load of depression. 

I reminded the major of the republican spirit and character of the 
Southerns, — my old masters in politics; and he retorted: "A whig 
parliament, sir, established the funding system, and gave William III. 
the means of corrupting parliaments: a whig parliament passed the Sep- 
tennial Act in 1716, and put a period to civil liberty in England. — 
We are jealous of open enemies; but Heaven only can guard us against 
friends. I admire the southern people, and would save them from 
themselves. 

''When the "three-fifths" provision was inserted in the consitution, 
I thought that we stepped off with the wrong foot foremost. But, the 
proposal to extend it ought to have been postponed until the domestic 
evils that harrass us should be removed, — and until we should settle 
our South-American policy. What evil spirit conjured up this topic 
of effervescence at this time, and threw down a thousand apples of 
discord? A question of such compass required years of previous dis- 
cussion." 

We endeavoured to calculate the enormous contributions levied 
throughout the Uuion, in form of lawyers-tees and costs of suit for 
seven successive years; but the aggregate sum was so immense as to 
exceed belief— and he has taken a memorandum for revision. "Law- 
yers." said he, "are neither better nor worse than other men; every 
profession has its peculiar vice; but discovering, that the generality of 
mankind are only adult children, they tacitly assume their entire guar- 
dianship, and hold them in endless minority. — They are particularly 
accused of insolency, — but rather unjustly, as hautenr is the natural 
fruit of boundless influence. A patrician order will always feel as a 
superior class. With a simple code, we should be enabled to do with- 
out lawyers; for the fundamental principles of law, viz. the force of 
moral obligation, and the nature of contracts, the distinctions be- 
tween right and wrong, are so obvious to all, so clear and plain, that 
every man may be his own lawyer.-- -Silly people are led to believe, 
that the intricacy and ambiguity, studiously kept up, are inseparable 
from the nature of law, which in truth, is simply a rule prescribed by 
the general will for the guidance of the whole body of the society.— If 
we understand our own words,--five, ten, or twenty millions of per- 
sons can likewise comprehend theirs. Must I employ another man to 
fathom my intents and translate my English into law-english, or iaw- 
gibberish? It is preposterous to suppose so for a moment! The order 
is supported by hereditary arts on one side, and popular imbecility ok 
the other. A man who is once taught to believe that he cannot judge 
in matters of plain law, soon ceases to think for himself in matters of 
government. He sinks into a passive being, and accepts opinions rea- 



164 

dy-made. 3 ' Here he recapitulated the history of ancient and modern 
siaies, — affirming that their decline was uniformly precipitated by the 
lawyers. "An excellent rule of court was adopted by the Areopagus 
in its days of purity, of strictly confining the pleaders to a bare re- 
presentation of the facts belonging to the case, without ornament or de- 
clamation. Hence the judgment of the hearers remained tranquil, 
and the cause was not drowned in a flood of rhetorical declamation. 
When this usage was relaxed— -orators spoke for vanity or fees; and the 
commonwealth fell when Philip, (after the unfortunate admission of 
Macedon into the Achsean league) bribed the orators of Athens.— 
Rome exemplifies the same sad lesson, and every modern state abounds 
with cases in point. 

"England is a tortured example of the truths I assert. — Never can 
I forget the affecting picture drawn by my aged grandfather of his 
venerable sire, who used to relate with streaming eyes, the seduction 
of Cromwell and the treachery of the Presbyterians; his by the advice 
of the great lawyers, who advised him to grasp the crown, (and he 
went as near it as he could,) though he refused titles; — theirs by dis- 
appointment and love of domination. '•Tivo stars so malignant in oppo- 
sition, were fatal in conjunction;'' down tell the commonwealth, betray- 
ed like Troy; and I (he would say) became a wanderer, like old An- 
chises. Gashed with the wounds of fifteen battles on the side of par- 
liament, I suffered deeper smart from the defection of my countrymen, 
and the failure of freedom. — It was the logick of the English barrist- 
ers which first sapped and finally annulled the obligation of the repre- 
sentative to his constituents,— generally held sacred (with a few ex- 
ceptions, j from the foundation of the Saxon heptarchy till the passing 
of the Septennial Jet. — Then it was openly disavowed in order to ex- 
cuse parliamentary usurpation of the most flagrant kind, by which a 
triennial body prolonged its power to seven years!!! 

Being established for a limited time, and for a specific purpose, (says 
my favourite Lansdowne) they turned or tried to turn a temporary 
trust, like Decemvirs into a perpetual [at least a septennial] tyranny. 
—I must qu^te something farther, and verbatim on this vital point.— 
On it "hang the law and the prophets," politically. 

"He who commits a trust, parts only with the administration; it is 
not possible to convert a trust into an absolute right) or into a discre- 
tionary and independent power. 

" The English parliament, intoxicated with success, avowed a doc- 
" trine destructive of the first principles of free governments: it was 
" declared, the people when assembled (and they never were assem- 
tl bled, i. e. at that crisis) were every thing: when they had made their 
"election, they were nothing; and parliament became omnipotent.— 
r Though the supreme power in every community, formed to be free, 
" must be indivisible and inalienate; though it be impossible it should 
" submit its sovereignty to an emperor, a king or a senate, without 
" violating the act by which it exists as a community, without annihi- 
lating itself — and out of nothing, nothing can arise — yet parliament 
" maintained that its power and prerogatives were paramount, discre- 
" tionary, and incontroulablc, not only over the persons from whom it 



" pretended a delegation, but over those provinces and colonies which 
w were not included in the farce of representation." (See Lessons to 
a Prince, page 83-83.) 

"This done, it was easy to show, that a part (and a small part too, J 
is greater than the whole. Our little mimics chatter the same jargon 
in America; and prove as inconclusively as British jackdaws, that a 
delegate represents a nation, and not his electors; forgetting, that it 
is only as their agent and organ he has a voice in the legislature of 
the state or the nation. They try to evade responsibility by a sub- 
terfuge: — 'Thus heresy in England is transfused as an orthodox dogma 
on America; and, should it ever happen to expire there, it would pro- 
bably be revived here, by a juridical metempsychosis. This mental 
debauchery is the more dangerous to our democratical politics, as the 
love of sophistical conquest becomes as infectious, as that of warlike 
atchievements. The sophister elated by establishing one paradox on 
the ruins of a true proposition, pants for new renown, and boldly ad- 
vances at last to enthrone political blasphemy on the summits of ever- 
lasting truth. The more difficult the enterprize, the greater the glo- 
ry.— This is a trait of human nature:— the lawyers are not so blame- 
able as those who tempt them with political power. Whatever men 
gather from books with painful study, they value highly, though it be 
worthless or injurious in itself. Light there, you know is refracted 
once more, and the student beholds objects entirely inverted. — The 
worst of it undoubtedly is, that the encroachments on liberty are un- 
observed, when military power (from which we are in no danger,) is 
•very scrupulously watched. Wilkinson and Jackson, both of whom 
deserve monuments, have been baited under the hue and cry of con- 
gressional halloos, while the eyes of the nation were diverted from the 
tremendous doctrines and assumptions of the judges. I attribute this 
inconsistency entirely to the esprit de corps among the gentlemen of 
the bar in congres. Men rarely or never anticipate mischief from those 
of their own profession.— I do not question the integrity of any of them; 
but I deprecate their prejudices. 

"You have asked my opinion of South-American susceptibility of li- 
berty, and I will answer you, with all my heart. Love of freedom is 
so natural to man that he could never be enslaved, were it not for his 
indolence, his weakness, or his fears. — Montesquieu, (says the author 
last cited,) as a philosophical historian is extremely valuable: as a po- 
litician, he is useless or he is pernicious. The opinion that climate 
should jn-oduce and modify government, is fanciful, perhaps puerile; 
but the idea that any natural and necessary cause should generate a 
slave, is unphilosophic, untrue, and detestable." 

"The glorious resistance of the Swiss to arbitrary power did not ori- 
ginate in finespun theories, but in unsufferable insolence, and grievous 
acts of oppression. They were illiterate and superstitious; yet they 
established their liberties and laid the foundation of prosperity and in- 
tellectual improvement. The nobles had looked with jealousy on the 
increasing comfort and civilization of the people. Gesler the Austrian 
governor of Uri, ordered a peasant's (Stauffacher's) house to be burned, 
because it appeared to him too neat. Landenberg, of Unterwalden, 



166 

seized a farmer's oxen, and tauntingly told him to draw the plow him- 
self. The outrageous doings in Altorf, and the wrongs of Tell &c* 
filled the cup; the leaders plotted with good faith in favour of emanci- 
pation in November 1307, and the revolution began. They resolutely 
drove out the tyrants, and founded their fteedom. Like outrages were 
followed by like consequences in other cantons, till eight were num- 
bered in the confederacy in 1341. Nay lor, the historian, remarks, vol. 
I. 259, That it is not so very difficult to keep mankind ignorant and 
depressed; but, to unteach them what they have once learned, is be- 
yond the reach of despotic power. The simple manners of the Helve- 
tians long excluded the arts of chicane and maintained their republic 
in envied felicity. It was if possible, a greater eyesore to the Austri- 
ans than the liberty of Greece to the Persians. — The prosperity of re- 
publican Helvetia was a constant and augmenting source of mortifica- 
tion to the emperor Leopold. While that dangerous confederacy flour- 
ished, it was in vain for fortune to smile. Every enjoyment was em- 
bittered by the cruel prospect of triumphant freedom." (Naylor, page 
791, vol. II.) 

"The South-Americans are probably in a state somewhat resembling 
that of the Romans, after expelling the Tarquins — some germs of nobi- 
lity remained to oppress them, ---which unfortunately they never abo- 
lished, — not even when they created tribunes of the people. I confess^ 
there is much to be done in Spanish-America; but I maintain that any 
people may be qualified for the reception of freedom in the space of a 
single generation. The majority of South-Americans may be trained 
for it in ten or fifteen years. — I agree with Rousseau, that every legi- 
timate government is republican,— i. e. the creature of the general will. 
—Otherwise the general will becomes subjected to a part. The most 
essential truths in politics are easily learnt. It is believed, that the 
Anglo-Saxon government, as modified by Alfred in the ninth century, 
—was the freest institution ever reared in England— nor is this pay- 
ing that lawgiver a great compliment. Magna Charta, with all its 
recognitions dwindled into a solemn jest, before royal prerogative and 
parliamentary omnipotence; and the boasted revolution of 1688 was 
only "a compact between the prince and princess of Orange, and the 
heads of certain families, attended by the mayor of London and other 
persons in the exercise of authority." 

"A thousand pretty common-places may be strung together on pre- 
serving free government; for that is the main point;— but the whole se- 
cret lies in a nutshell. Let stewards not grow to their seats, and they 
will not grow arrogant. In other words, Beware of giving agents the 
means of transforming themselves into principals. Division and re- 
sponsibility are the only curbs against abuses of executive trust. Let 
the South-Americans look to it in laying the foundation'. 

"Men's dispositions being more mercenary now than formerly, an 
administration may purchase a majority with the people's money: there- 
fore additional securities are wanted. — Executive patronage soon out- 
weighs amor patriae, and must either be divided or the term of service 
abridged. An interval of six or eight years ought to be interposed be- 
tween elections of a chief magistrate, to prevent collusion, bargain and 



16? 

sale in executive succession. Wherever the executive branch is invest- 
ed with vast powers, it speedily absorbs all influence. Representa- 
tives',, printers, officers of every kind rush headlong into the vortex. 
Appointments therefore ought to be divided among the people, the re- 
presentatives and the executive. Military and naval officers should be 
selected by the latter; judges ought to be chosen by the representatives,, 
and the major part of civil appointments be made by the houses in joint 
ballot. — If these precautions be neglected, the spirit of monarchy in- 
fallibly and speedily infects the body politic. No matter by what name 
if goes, if it generate servility, civil liberty will soon be extinct. — In- 
stead of election controulling the executive power, the executive will 
controul election; he will take the citadel, and turn its guns against 
freedom of opinion. It is better that the legislature, annually chosen, 
should elect a president for two years, and re-elect him once, than that 
the people at large should choose him. A ferment ensues, — party -uni~ 
on is preached up as a canon, and all respect to the merit of a candi- 
date is forgotten. Nomination becomes every thing, and election a 
passive formality. — Every government will suffer untimely dissolution, 
if its constitution do not give complete efficiency to the fundamental 
principles of rotation, limitation, and division of power*— i. e. to all the 
means of responsibility. 

"When the lluscios, the Zeas, the Cadizes, the republican dele- 
gates of Margarita, and their worthy colleagues, begin to lay the foun- 
dations of a permanent constitution, it is hoped they will leave no room 
for hereditary bodies or hereditary fraud. It is hoped that they will 
judiciously perform Bolivar's injunctions respecting the administration 
of justice, hitherto an execrable mystery in the greater part of the 
globe.— -Their example would be copied by all the South. — If they 
would avoid shipwreck. — Let them riot mingle discordancies; let their 
constitution be black or white, or green or red, — in some way uniform. 
Pure representation is the Palladium of liberty — and of concord." 

In this earnest, discursive manner would the fluent major converse 
on the great principles that still animate him with an ardour almost 
youthful. Would to God that all our councils were filled with candour, 
virtue, sagacity and energy like his! The treasures of India and Peru 
could not make him swerve from the dictates of conscience; the honors 
and riches of a world could not purchase his vote. He is a statesmen 
for the times, — but times and manners are not fitted for him. Parties 
and cabals, and sectional bargains are his abomination. — 

He will more fully explain my motives for addressing these unorna- 
mented letters to you. 

You will do me a kindness by transmitting a copy to the veteran 
general Artigas. It will convince him, that at least one unhired pen 
in the United States has been drawn in vindication of South-American 
patriots. I could wish that Mr. Monterosa, his stcretary, should re- 
ceive another. I am strongly prepossessed in favor of a man so gene- 
rously ambitious as to exchange the perquisites of a. padre, a father of 
mummery, for the glory of being "father of his country." 

As for poor Carrera— -liberal, gallant, accomplished, generous mar?? 
I am confident he is no more — else would I forward half a dozen c«- 



168 

pies to him. On the 8th of Dec. last, young Mr. of New-York ? 

having requested a letter to gen. Carre ra, I wrote one to oblige him, 
but reluctantly, as the general was reported to have been assassinated. 
I extract the following to show you, that duty and honor urged me to 
this exposition. — If any thing useful to our common country, is min- 
gled with it; I am pleased. Here is the extract: 

"The assassination of your brothers and the general proscription of 
your friends have almost reduced us to despair on your account. — It 
has even been reported that you had been assassinated; a very natural 
catastrophe in such a tragedy. Usurpers are callous; all means are 
welcome to them. — For these reasons your friends are filled with anx- 
iety; and under this cloud of apprehension and uncertainty I pen this 
faint remembrancer of my esteem and affection. — If you live, I shall see 
or hear from you: If you have joined the murdered Rodriguez, in the 
shades below, — even there I could wish some good angel, some attend- 
ant and friendly spirit to convey an assurance of my unaltered and unal- 
terable regard. Your conversations with me in New York, our numer- 
ous conferences on your republican projects for enlightening the peo- 
ple, &c. Sec. are indelibly stamped on my memory. 

"You have nevertheless been traduced even here by a miserable pen; 
but disregard the calumny, as I shall flay the calumniator, and neutral- 
ize all his venom. The creature has endeavoured to vilify your name 
and brand it with infamy: but his arrows shall recoil upon himself from 
the impenetrable shield of truth: Like the scorpion he shall be com- 
pelled to wound himself. The cause of justice and virtue is not confin- 
ed to a corner; it is dear to generous hearts in every country. — All 
good men sympathize with you. They lament your afflictions, as well 
for your own merit, as on account of your subjected country. — Nor 
is their friendship limited by the grave itself,— unless all-destroying 
Time sets a bourne to spiritual as to animal existence."* 

I added much mote, until anguished feeling obliged me to put up my 
pen. My promise is in a train of fulfilment. 1st. I entered a caveat 
against a bad book, of which I gave some specimens — a kind of ven- 
geance more humane, I think, than the old heroical way of killing one's 
antagonist first, and then dragging his corpse at a horse's tail all round 
a city. — 2d. In the enclosed, I have touched questions important to 
the best of causes, — very sincerely, but too trippingly I fear. — 3d. Far- 
ther enquiry into capability, a nice point, involving the philosophy of 
history and of the human mind, I refer back to the major and yourself. 
—4th. Should providence allot me a little leisure, the remaining pledge 
shall be redeemed. 

We are in a great crisis: Every faithful citizen ought to contribute 
his quota to the public good; ought to rouse the people from apathy, and 
summon all to perform their duty.— I have lent my humble mite, — and 
gladly lost sight of trivial objects (when possible,) to promote greater. 
None but a bad citizen or a stupid one can be regardless of his coun- 
try's welfare, and indifferent to its danger. Adieu. 



£ * See note A. at the end. 



169 



(A.) 
Supplementary Note on the Proscription and Murder of the Carreras- 

Historical composition requiring much time for deliberation, compa 
rison and revision, would advance too slowly for the impatient reader. 
I therefore annex this very concise sketch. — -It is taken chiefly from 
the journal of a most intelligent American traveller. 

Soon after the defeat of O'Higgins at Rancagua, general Jose M. 
Carrera applied to general San Martin at Mendoza, for a supply of 
arms with which to equip the Chilians against the royalists. This offi- 
cer replied that he would furnish the arms required, provided he (San 
Martin) should be permitted to appoint officers for the men to be so le- 
vied and armed. Carrera saw his drift, and refused:— Affairs had now 
reached a crisis: the patriotic army of Chili under Carrera was over- 
powered after an obstinate resistance; and the remnant retreated across 
the Andes to Mendoza.-~The republican leaders experienced the in- 
sults of San Martin, and the men were subject to his seduction. Gen- 
eral Jose Miguel came to the United States, and Luis and John Joseph 
went to Buenos- Ay re6. 

The exertions of gen. Carrera to negociate a loan and make contracts 
in the United States, are known to every one. His urbanity, frank- 
ness, diligence and republican zeal, gained him the esteem of all who 
knew him. — Having made fruitless endeavours to promote his objects 
in New-York, I wrote letters by him to my friends in this city: one 
of whom generously lent him a sum of money, and used his influence 
to facilitate a contract with others. — 0'Higgins,the enemy of Carrera s 

since spoke of Mr. , and repeatedly and emphatically declared:— 

"I love and respect that man, for his fervor in the liberation and wel- 
fare of Chili." Carrera sailed for his destination; but, intrigues fo- 
mented on the voyage, forced the squadron into Buenos-Ayres, against 
his will, and exposed him to the machinations of his enemies. He was 
seized and put in close cc nfinement on board a man of war; and his in- 
timate friends were incarcerated likewise. A pretence of high treason 
was set up against the citizen of another government, and jurisdiction 
was usurped by that of Buenos-Ayres. — "When at length, says he, 
"my wife was permitted to see me, I wrote to the director Puerrey- 
don to enquire for the cause of this persecution, and urging him to 
have me brought before the tribunal. He did not answer me; but I was 
transferred to the barracks of Terrada, and my confinement continued 
there. This change was intended to afford San Martin, who had 
arrived from Chili, a conference with me, which was reduced in sub- 
stance to solicit my friendship, and make me subservient to his absurd 
plans. I would not agree to any thing; and I believe my situation be- 
came worse on this account."* Passports were finally granted to all 



♦It was in this interview that an embassy to this country, and a salary of 
§510,000 were offered to the general. They were repelled with firmness and dig- 
nity; ths general protesting against the assumptions of his adversaries. 
Z 



170 

the brothers for the United States; the Beneventes being set at liberty 
with orders to leave the country; so that involuntary exile was pres- 
cribed, when voluntary banishment was rejected. 

The general was again committed to a floating prison; but was ac- 
quitted of the sham charge of treason by the very judges of Puerrey- 
don. He then feared that the director would sacrifice him to appease 
his resentment, or to hide his shame; and by the aid of some friends, 
made his escape — General Lecor gave him an asylum; but the intima- 
cy between the governments of Buenos-Ayres and Brazil, left him in 
the jaws of danger, — continually menaced with assassination. 

When seized in Buenos-Ayres, he lost all his papers; the soldiers 
carrying them off as he was conveyed to prison. Private harpies there 
took advantage of his embarrassments to rob him of his property. — 
His letter of the 21st of May 1817, relates these occurrences at length, 
the baseness of Lavaysse, &c. &e. Another of the 17th of September, 
gives a melancholy picture of his dependent situation: 

"By this [the Clifton's entering Buenos-Ayres against his will,] I lost 
the expedition, my share of glory, my liberty, my country, my proper- 
ty; and driven to-day to the necessity of living under the protection 
of a government which looks on me with suspicion;* not knowing when 
T may be able to better my fortune, nor how to extricate my family 
from misery, and from the clutches of their tyrants. Such is the fruit 
of my travels, toils, humiliations, dangers, &c. &c. — If I had remained 
quiet at Buenos-Ayres, instead of seeking assistance, (he means in 
the United States) my condition would not now be so forlorn; on the 
contrary, I should not have given time for the intrigues of my rivals, 
and I should at this time be in my own country as I was in 1812. — 
Useless reflections! they only serve to render sensibility more acute." 

Meanwhile his brothers, John Joseph and Lewis, were on their way 
to Mendoza, intending to return to their country whenever they could 
do so with safety. They were there thrown into prison, on futile and 
ridiculous pretexts.— Whether the intercession of our commissioners 
for them with the Buenos-Ayrean government would have had much 
influence, I dare not, and cannot affirm. The impatience of the cojn- 
mander-in-chief would not suffer him to listen to the voice of justice, 
policy or mercy. Before any orders reached Mendoza from Buenos- 
Ayres, he had butchered them. San Martin's army was panic-struck 
on the 5th. of April 1818, at Cancharayada, near Talca, and so totally 



■ ft *Our hopeful "voyager," p. 232, vol. I. makes the Buenos.Ayrean agent ask.- *'If 
he (Carrera) be the real patriot, why does he live under the protection of this gov- 
ernment?" i. e. the Portuguese. The voyager ought then to have asked, why the 
government of Buenos-Ayres were in league with that of Brazil? — The first ques- 
tion is answered already: Carrera sought to avoid assassination. From p. 232 
till p. 238 is a tissue of the most unfeeling invective against this distinguished vic- 
tim — The cause of Chilian independence and public right he affects (p. 236) to 
call "personal affairs, private quarrels and bickerings." This is worthy of the 
writer who treats public hostilities as "a private and local war between Artigas 
and the Portuguese!" Page 267-8 are more rancorous if possible. — In like man- 
ner, from p. 47 to 58, vol. II. all is written to villjfy the fallen Carrera. Can such, 
a writer possess any human feelings? 



171 

dispersed that every thing for a time was given up as lost.* Under the 
operation of malice, terror and disappointment, h • dispatched Mon- 
teagudo with an order (as stated above) to Luzuriaga, the governor of 
Mendoza, for the immediate execution of the Carreras. The messenger 
arrived at the scene on the morning of the 8th, and the order was exe- 
cuted in the Plaza on the evening of the same day. A Mr. Wilkinson, 
an Englishman, happened to be a spectator of the tragedy, which he said 
was one of the most affecting and unexpected scenes he had ever wit- 
nessed. He described it very feelingly to an American gentleman two 
or three days after. 

Buth the prisoners were noble looking men, of fine person and com- 
manding mein. Dragged out as they were, unprepared and squalid 
with the filth of their dungeons, they had a most manly and dauntless 
appearance. — What would have deformed others, begrimed as they 
were, made them look more majestic. — They were hurried to the 
spot, and a confessor or "sin-absolver" (as Shakespeare says) brought 
to insult the heroes with his "tenders" of ghostly comfort. Juan Jose 
Carrera told him to stand aside, — with an observation implying, that 
this was no time for mummery; and asked for a moment's pause to look 
round on his friends, if he had any. Luis, the younger brother, yield- 
ed to priestly solicitations, and conformed to the usages of his church. 
Both the martyrs solemnly and repeatedly protested that they were in- 
nocent, — that they were about to be basely and causelessly murdered. 
Leave was granted them to embrace, and bid a final earthly adieu to 
each other.— This sight, said Wilkinson, would have moved a heart of 
stone; it was inexpressibly affecting. When pinioned to the seat of 
execution (banquillo) they begged that they should not be blindfolded, 
but be permitted to give the word of command to the guard; that they 
might die like innocent men, and like soldiers. Their request 
was refused. A handkerchief was thrown over their faces; — the guard 
fired, and they ceased to exist. — They were brave, patriotic and po- 
pular, and therefore unpardonable in the eyes of a man inimical to 
freedom, and who hoped to enslave the Chilians by depriving them of 
their greatest leaders. 

As to the silly story of their conspiring with the royalist prisoners 
to murder the governors of Mendoza, of San Juan and San Luis, it is 
enough to recollect, that of all Chilenos (Chilians) they were peculi- 
arly hostile to the royalists, by whom they were implacably hated; that 
they were but two men, two unarmed men, in the dungeons of Mendo- 
za, and in fetters, (under the care of Luzuriaga, a Buenos-Jiyrean 
jailor,) at the distance of 180 miles due north of San Juan, and 246 
miles due east from San Luis, where there was a strong garrison com- 
manded by a governor of Buenos-Ayres. Besides, there is a dreary 
waste of sixty miles in breadth between that place and Mendoza. 

In the Duende of July 6, 1818, edited by the base Monteagudo, ap- 
pear the most hardened and ferocious remarks on this unrelenting mur- 
der. He states that a number of proclamations had arrived by last 
mail from Buenos-Ayres, directed by Don J. M. Carrera to the inhab- 



*In the confusion of retreat, the Chilian soldiers had cried out: "Send us the 
Carreras, and we'll drive the Spaniards into the sea!" 



172 

itants of Chili. — <"It commences in the tone of a funeral oration, thus: 
— "Where are our brothers, our compatriots, John Joseph and Lewis 
(i de Carrera? The Duentle answer-* him: Thy brethren John Joseph 
"and Lewis de Carrera are where thou shouldest be, under ground;" 
(baxo de tierra.") 

This Monteagudo had fled from the rout at Cancharayada, and is» 
(like some other malignants) a great coward. Happening subse- 
quently, when some of his former notions revived perhaps, to utter an. 
expression in favor of convening a congress in Chili, he was banish- 
ed that very day (as a dangerous and treasonable talker) across the 
mountains to Punta San Luis. His prostitution could not save him. 

General Jose Miguel de Carrera, according to news already pub- 
lished, had been inveigled into the t^ils of his enemy. His life has 
doubtless been forfeited by his patriotism. Every republican heart 
will be a grateful monument of his worth.* 

P. S. This is the age of revolutions. Sudden tidings of unlooked 
for events almost overwhelm our powers of reflection. Absorbed in 
wonder, we can hardly call off the mind to description or enquiry. 
Buonaparte saw his victorious prospects blasted in a moment; all was 
changed in a single night. More agreeable is our surprize. The he- 
ro, statesman, scholar and patriot, whom many among us had lament- 
ed as dead, appears to have eluded his enemies, and is now combat- 
ting them in the field. Jose M. De Carrera, if we may believe in- 
telligence received from Buenos-Ayres since the above was printed off, 
has united himself with the patriot army of Artigas. In enterprize, 
skill and prowess he is a host. A decisive engagement was daily ex- 
pected between the republican forces and the bands of Buenos-Ayres. 
If just revenge could be glutted on the field, we may anticipate the car- 
nage. If victory leans to the side of justice, the issue cannot be 
doubtful. — If this general survives, Buenos-Ayres will be revolutioniz- 
ed, and Chili yet taste freedom.! It is vain to re-echo "measures not 
men." We must have virtuous patriots to establish pure principles. 
We must have republican men to maintain republican measures. Good- 
ness must be protected by greatness. Feeble minds are apt to buoy 
themselves by corruption; to grasp at the meanest stratagems and court 
the foibles of human nature. Great men aim more directly at the object, 
appeal to reason and confide in virtue; trusting to an energetic prosecu- 
tion of honorable means for success. Carrera is a man of this cast; frank, 
firm, andfull of resources, he will not dishonor his namebyany thingthat 



* Nothing could move the indurated bosom of the "voyager," who reprehends 
the general, p. 49-50, vol. II. (in note) for exposing the tyrannical conduct of 
Puerreydon and San Martin he. in a memoir which, he makes him to say, general 
l,ecor had given him the means, he probably had said permission,— to publish.- 
but, that he ought to have scorned such publication! 

f Our «<voyager" has laughed at the oppressions of Chili, p. 23o, vol.1. "The 
6tory of Buenos-Ayres having made a conquest of Chili, and intending to 
hold it under a kind of subjection nearly as bad as that of Spain, is not worth a 
refutation." Yet, I have seen letters from Chili, written by Americans, which 
substantiate the "story" as undeniably as could any official testimony whatever. 



178 

aavors of mediocrity. Though he must be gentle with prejudice, he will 
never compromise with meanness. — May his good fortune be commensu- 
rate with his talents and patriotism! Jlrtigas, Carrtra, and their brave 
associates, are the lifeguards of liberty. — One decided victory would 
put an end to civil war and to usurpation in Buenos- Ay res, and lead 
to the speedy emancipation of Chili. — Lord Cochrane's repulse before 
Lima, which I would mourn under other circumstances, may accelerate 
the expulsion of San Martin's myrmidons. I am glad of his failure, 
because the faction in whose service he was, are anti -republican, and 
because (if rumor does not belie him) he has sullied his fame by petty 
and unlawful pillage. The gloom begins to vanish. I anticipate the ri- 
sing glories of Chili, Buenos-Ayres and Banda-Oriental &c. &c. under 
the auspices of Jlrtigas and Carrera. I think I see usurpers deposed, 
tranquillity restored, ond freedom revived — I indulge in the pleasura- 
ble fancy, and "celebrate (in your jocund phrase) a jubilee of the 
heart." 

END OF PART I. 



OPINIONS OF THE "VOYAGE? #c. 

The "voyager" being deeply stung by the first number of the "Stric- 
tures," attempted to bolster himself by the opinion of Mr. Jefferson, 
which he quotes in an angry effusion in a Washington newspaper. 

The sage of Monticello, (says he) in a letter to Mr. Rodney, (part 
of whicn he was so good as to communicate to me a few days ago) thus 
expresses himself: "I return you my thanks for the work of Mr. Brack- 
enridge. So many contradictory accounts have been published of late 
with respect to the state of things in South-America, that I have deter- 
mined to read nothing on the subject, that is not sanctioned by a re- 
sponsible name! — In reading Mr. Brackenridge's book I perceive a mist 
dispersing from before my eyes! I agree with him perfectly, that a peo- 
ple must be educated and prepared for freedom." 

Mr. Jefferson is right in his belief of the necessity of popular educa- 
tion and discipline; but he does not say, that usurpers should be the 
preceptors. Mr. Jefferson judged charitably; not imagining that the 
"Secretary" could write such sheer romance on a subject of importance 
and notoriety, where he was liable to detection at every slip. He was 
misled!— In verity, therefore, Mr. Jefferson's opinion turns against him; 
for, since the "responsible name," [risum teneatis!] avouches fiction 
instead of fact, the conclusion founded on a fallacy, falls with it. — On 
this point I gave my notion in my reply, as published in the Baltimore 
Patriot. I extract the following: — 

"As to the sanction of the illustrious, the admirable Jefferson, I free- 
ly declare my disapprobation of besieging great men, for the purpose 
of trepanning them into ex parte decisions and hasty opinions. — Jews 
and Gentiles throng his halls, jostling and capsizing one another to 
touch the hem of his garment, or obtain, as a relic., the scrawl of his 
pen. — Could kings see and feel the glory of such homage, they would 



174 

almost be tempted to resign crovvns and break chains, rise to the rank 
of men, and leave the stage amidst their plaudits. Wnile the great 
Jefferson draws towards the frontiers of another world, it i» unfair, it 
is ungenerous and cruel, to distract his attention in favour of unde- 
serving objects." 

Not to insist too strenuously on the propriety of my own dictum, I 
submit the whole matter to the arbitration of Don Manuel Moreno. — 
Upright, judicious and learned, — a native of Buenos Jlyres, we must 
acknowledge his superior fitness to decide intelligently and impartial- 
ly on question? concerning his own country. I copy his candid and 
dignified answer. 

From the Baltimore Patriot. 

TO H. M. BRACKENRIBGE, ESQ. 

Sir, — It was with no small degree of surprise, that I saw my name 
mentioned by you in the Washington City Gazette, as an assistant to 
the author of Strictures, or analysis of your Voyage to South-America. 

During my distinguished exilement, as you have pleased to call it, 
and which some months since ceased to be involuntary, I have uni- 
formly declined public controversy in this country, as well as any thing 
connected with political characters. I am only a mere spectator, with- 
out any pretensions whatever; and I may add, a constant student. I 
have twice refused overtures from the late administration of Buenos- 
Jlyres to become its political writer and apologist. The first applica- 
tion was made to me on the 6th of October 1817, by Mr. Jlguirre, the 
very representative of Fuerreydon, in this country, whose original let- 
ter with my answer, together with more recent proof of this truth, may 
be shown to you if required. 

"Jin extract," you say, ei of a private letter from me to him (Dr. Mo- 
reno) has atso been furnished.— By whom?" Before you should have 
come to the conclusion you diaw, you ought to have redeemed the ques- 
tion if by whom," from any rational uncertainty. There are different 
ways, by which such an extract (or rather a mere reference) may have 
come to the knowledge of a third person. The matter is no longer a 
secret. Your inferences, then, are not facts sufficient to justify the 
accusation against me. I hope to find you (jsuch is your promise,) "still 
willing to do me justiceS' 

Therefore, you sir, have no right to drag my name into public glare, 
nor to disturb my avocations; much less to make me the subject of sus- 
picions; when the author of the said Strictures is known to you; and 
were it not so, you might have applied to the printer for informations 
who, I suppose, was authorized to produce it. 

However, 1 beg to be distinctly understood, that there is no indivi- 
dual squabble in this case. No candid and liberal man takes offence 
when he meets with mistakes and contradiction. Nor must friendship 
sutler by a difference of views and opinions; for as a great philosopher 
and poet says, it is fair to dissent without quarrelling; incolumem sem- 
per licuit amicitia. 

Conceiving that there is no necessity or pretence for animosity, I 



175 

Jiete tender my services to you, as a token of respect for your person, 
as well as for your production. It is a literary subject; a question 
about the political merit of Mr. Brack enridge's Book. That book, I 
am sorry to perceive, is full of errors, respecting my country, its con- 
cerns, and its various historical, political and statistical departments. 
Being conversant with these topics from infancy, and convinced of the 
impossibility of giving a true picture of a country from a transient visit, 
or antiquated books, I cannot but regret that the auth<-rof the Voyage 
to South-America in 1817 and 1818, did not consult with some person 
of experience, and have it corrected before publication. Distinctly I 
declare, I shall not swerve from my resolution to avoid public disputa- 
tion. I am nevertheless disposed to enter into a private discussion with 
Mr. B. to assist him in detecting and expunging his errors. The sub- 
ject has bean for me the study of many years, such as was required by 
my former station. My views have been enlarged by a long and easy 
residence in England, and now in these United States for three years. 
I am grieved, also at the doctrines of the book, which lean against the 
rights of the people. As a citizen of Buenos- Ayr es, as an advocate 
of liberty, and a friend to the United States, I am willing to sacrifice 
some useful time in enabling Mr. Brackenribge to render his work 
more worthy of patronage, by an excision of its faults; and this, I 
hope, will be received as the best proof of the most distinguished con- 
sideration, with which 1 have the honour to repeat myself, sir, to be, 

Yours respectfully, 

3V1. MORENO. 
At Mr. Solomon's, No. 7, N. > 
Calvert street, Baltimore. $ 



CORRECTIONS. 

j£j*Errata. — The reader will please to excuse our omitting to correct several 
verbal and literal "mistakes of the press," which he will easily observe; as in page 
32, Letter I. "half a year" should be "half theye&r.'" — He will encounter elsewhere 
"gentlema^ instead of of "gentlemen," — &c. &c. 

In the estimate of black and coloured population, in note, p. 32, he will read 
1,377,810 instead of 1,377,310; which, as he will recollect, is the aggregate num- 
ber of 1,191,364 slaves, and the item of 186,446, being "free persons, [of colour 
&c] except Indians not taxed,"— as stated in the census of 1810. De Pradt's com-: 
putation seems rather conjectural; but the enumeration of the present year will 
give us precise returns. 

Dele note to p. 127-128 — (if he please!) because it involves nothing very per- 
tinent in statistical or political investigation, and is only tolerable, by reason of 
the sublime meditation it produces, and which is almost inseparable from the aw- 
ful grandeur such geological scenes present. 

Dele also the remark p, 153, on "poisoning our politics;" as it appears rather 
late. "From our inurement to a kind of Mithridatic practice, we may fearlessly 
defy the infection of the Holy Alliance itself '."—("This is the very expression of 
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